Remorse
by Jenny70529
Summary: Sara and Catherine are involved in a car accident. No pairings as of yet, team friendship.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anyone, although if I did, I wouldn't be broadcasting it, and I wouldn't be writing this, because I'd have two certain young beautiful men in my bedroom, chained to my bed. Alas, I'm just a struggling student/mother/workaholic who puts in 45 hours a week and still can't make her bills, there's no way I could afford them, or a lawsuit, so don't get any ideas. I'll tell you the same thing I tell my creditors: If you want your money, take a number, I'll get to you when it's your turn.

**Authors Notes**: Please let me know what you think, it's not the best, but I have tweaked it here and there, trying to get it to sound at least semi-in-character. I live for replies, and since I already have the next chapter written, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bribe me into posting it if you like what you're getting now.

_**Remorse:**_

Sara and Catherine sat in silence, Sara's fingers tapping anxiously on the arm rest of the Tahoe. They were on their way to a triple homicide, and the rain was pouring down in sheets on the Tahoe as it's occupants tried to make out the road ahead of them.

"I hate driving in the rain." Catherine muttered, squinting to see the white lines she knew would keep her on the highway, "How is it that the slower I drive, the harder it is to see? We're never going to find our crime scene."

"And by the time we do, the evidence will have washed away." Sara spat out, angry with mother nature for doing this to them. They had already made the majority of the hour long journey when the sky had opened up, letting loose a flood of water over the desert.

Sara let out an involuntary shiver, it had been raining like this the night she had to investigate Eddie's death, the night things started getting very intense between the two female CSI's. Grissom had obviously noticed the growing friction between them, because he had been pairing them up for any case he could since, hoping they could settle their differences.

What was there to settle, really? Sara couldn't help Catherine, she couldn't do what had to be done, and Catherine called her on it. She couldn't blame Catherine for being upset, she wasn't too thrilled about not being able to put someone away for murder herself. And Catherine's cold attitude towards her since was just adding more and more guilt each day.

Sara couldn't imagine losing someone she really loved, and more than that, she couldn't imagine not having someone, something, to be held responsible for that loss. She knew it was eating Catherine alive, she had been much more edgier than usual, and she just wished she could have eased her pain, Lindsey's pain. That was the thing she hated most about her job, the times she couldn't nail the bad guys.

Catherine, too, was thinking about the night Eddie died, pulling Lindsey out of the sinking car, the cold water rushing around her, the fear pounding in her chest as her adrenaline kicked in. She stole a glance at Sara, who had a sad look on her face. She had been really unfair to Sara while she was investigating Eddie's case, she knew that, and she had tried to apologize, but Sara would never let her. Catherine knew that Sara's worst enemy was herself, but after trying to apologize twice, she never made the effort again.

They had gone on with their daily lives, although she had some trouble adjusting, as did her daughter, she thought she was getting close to being normal again. Deep down, she wondered if every thunderstorm would bring back memories, making her heart race again.

"Catherine, slow down." Sara muttered, leaning forward to try and get a better view of the road, "We may need to pull over until this lightens up."

Catherine scowled, "It's not like there's a crime scene waiting for us or anything." She replied dryly, "I'm a grown woman, I've been driving for years."

"The road's curvy." Sara argued, ducking under her shoulder harness and leaning rifling through the glove compartment, "Here we go, three emergency triangles, we can put our emergency blinkers on, mark the Tahoe with these, and wait it out. Otherwise, we'll be processing our own crime scene."

"You're right, we should pull over." Catherine agreed, as the center line of the highway disappeared from her line of vision once again, "I can barely see a thing. But since it was your idea, I'll be more than glad to let you set up the triangles outside in this downpour."

Lighting cracked outside, lighting up the road long enough for both women to see the sharp curve in the road, but not leaving enough reaction time. Moments later, their car was tumbling down the side of a steep embankment, both women's screams filling the air.

Catherine opened her eyes, pain shooting through her arm and her side, vaguely aware of rain pouring into the Tahoe. She winced, inhaling sharply while trying to remember what happened. The rain, the curve, it all came back to her in an instant blur, and she whispered softly, "Sara?"

Sara was still unconscious, and Catherine had no way of telling how long they had been there, it could have been 5 minutes, it could have been 5 hours. "Sara?" She repeated, a little louder, studying her friend closely to make sure she was at least breathing.

Sara's eyes fluttered open, and immediately she let out a gasp of pain, "What...? Oh my God. Catherine? Are you okay?"

"I think my arm's broken, maybe a few ribs." Catherine replied, "What about you?"

Sara tried to move, but she couldn't gather enough energy over her throbbing headache. She shakily brought a hand to her forehead, pulling it back to reveal blood, "I hit my head, probably on the windshield, but I think it's just bumps and bruises. Nothing feels broken."

"We need to get out of here." Catherine said suddenly, as she caught a whiff of gasoline, "Can you get free?"

Sara looked down trying to get her eyes to focus, but only creating a new problem, double vision. Her throbbing head turned into a stabbing pain, and she brought her hand to her head to try and steady herself, feeling as though she was falling, although she knew it wasn't the case. "I'm going to try. Can you?"

Catherine groaned, trying to get her bearings straight, "The car's nosedived into the mud, so if we can get the doors opened, it shouldn't be too hard to get out, as long as it doesn't tilt and put us completely upside down." She tugged on the handle, relieved as a burst of cold air met her, the metal swinging open on it's hinges, "My door opened, can yours?"

Sara's voice was shaking as she fumbled with her door handle, "It opened a little, I think I can squeeze through. You're going to need some help getting out, I'll come around and get you."

"I can get it." Catherine replied, "Just unhook my seatbelt."

Sara groaned, fighting with her own seatbelt, "Catherine, stop arguing with me. You can't unfasten yourself until you're sure the car's going to stay in this position. Let me help you, you don't have to do everything alone."

"Pot. Kettle. Black." Catherine muttered, "Just hurry up, okay? I smell gasoline."

Sara managed to squeeze out of the car, although the metal created a new deep gash on her side as she escaped the twisted pile of metal and landed with a thud in the deep mud. She stumbled over to Catherine's side, surveying the wreckage through the still-heavy rainfall. "Can you swing your legs around?" Sara asked, unfastening Catherine's seatbelt.

Catherine shook her head weakly, her eyelids heavy. She wanted nothing more than to take a long nap at the moment, cold and sore, wanting to escape the reality of their situation. "I think my leg's broken too."

Sara squinted, seeing definite bone breaking through Catherine's pant leg, "I'd say that's a safe assumption. I'm going to pull you out, okay? It's going to hurt, but you can't fight me."

Catherine nodded tiredly, starting to shake, and Sara inwardly let out a string of curse words. Catherine was going into shock, and probably had internal damages. How could this have happened?

"Stay with me, okay?" Sara urged, "I'll get us out of here, then I'll get help. Everything's going to be fine."

Sara's head was spinning, and she was sure that her own eyes mirrored Catherine's woozy ones. She was pretty sure she had a concussion, and the building nausea was only confirming her suspicions. She managed to extract Catherine from the vehicle and support her to a tree a few yards away before scurrying a few feet over and violently emptying her stomach, her insides shaking.

She was going to have to go back into the car and get her kit. She always had spare medical supplies in her kit, as well as a flashlight, and she was sure that her cell phone was still in the center console. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered having a few emergency flares in her trunk. She stumbled back over to Catherine, who was now violently shaking, her arm cradled against her chest, the other one lying underneath to support the injury. She didn't think blankets would really help in the rain, but she made her mind up to get some anyway.

She was halfway to the Tahoe when it burst into flames, the small explosion sending Sara flying back a few feet, landing on the ground with a thud as her head began to ache even more terribly. Behind her, Catherine weakly called out, "Sara?"

Sara woozily crawled over to where her colleague was seated, and sat closely to her, knowing body heat was better than none, and wanting to inspect her colleague's injuries more closely. "This is bad, Cath."

"Oh Sara." Catherine replied with a choked sob, "If something happens, if I...well, if anything happens...tell Lindsey I love her. Tell her I'm so sorry."

Sara shook her head violently, "I won't have to, you'll tell her yourself. Nothing's going to happen to you, okay? I may have let Lindsey down where Eddie was concerned, but I won't let her down with you. No matter what, you're going to go home to her, even if I have to carry you across the desert on my back."

_Replies are what makes the world go 'round, or so I'm told. _


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Still aren't mine, but hopefully we'll learn how to clone in my next Chemistry class...okay, not really, but it is what my research project is on. 

Author's notes: Thanks for the replies, they made my day! I've got another piece written, so if you want it, you know how to entice me to post it. As for the comment about speaking with broken ribs, sometimes you can have a broken rib and not even know it's actually broken, thinking it's just bruised. It depends on the severity of the break, whether or not it was just a fracture, the location it's broken, which rib it is, and so on. Yes, too many semesters of A&P. 

On with the show...well, story... 

Two: 

"Sar, you're bleeding." Catherine whispered, noticing the gash on Sara's forehead, as well as the blood seeping through her shirt, "We need help. Do you have your phone?" 

Sara shook her head, and Catherine stared intently at the younger woman's face, "You never let Lindsey down. You did what you could, that's all we could have asked for. I was being a bitch, taking my anger and grief out on you. You didn't deserve any of it, I'm sorry. Lindsey loves you, I love you, you're practically part of our family." 

Sara let a few tears escape, "I let everyone down Cath. I couldn't get justice for Eddie, I can't help you right now, I couldn't get us to our crime scene, I screw up everything. I promise, if we get out of here, I won't give myself an opportunity to screw with your life again. I'm sorry I couldn't help Eddie. I'm sorry I can't do anything for you now. I'd die for you, Cath, I really would, but I can't do anything." She stifled a sob, "I hate being so helpless." 

"Someone's going to find us." Catherine reassured her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently, "And if I ever hear you talking like you've given up again, I'll be your biggest nightmare." 

They both closed their eyes, Sara's body going limp a few minutes later as she drifted out of consciousness. Catherine wasn't sure if her friend had fallen asleep or passed out again, but she was too tired and ached too badly to be able to focus on the situation. She longed for sleep, but she knew she needed to stay awake so she could stir Sara every little while and make sure the concussion wasn't too bad. Sleep was very, very bad for a head injury, but how can you tell a person who is already halfway asleep not to close their eyes and relax? Pain seared through her body, and she silently prayed they'd get out of this mess soon. 

Sara opened her eyes and moaned loudly, her head throbbing and her stomach churning. She shivered slightly, relieved to find that the rain had stopped falling, although it did leave her cold and wet. She attempted to turn and face Catherine, but gasped loudly with pain as the movement jarred her cut side, and instantly, she felt the warm blood dripping once more. 'Son of a bitch!' she thought, pressing a hand against her side as she tried to ignore the pain and move once more. 

"Cath?" She whispered, her voice laced with pain, "Catherine?" 

Catherine's eyes popped open, "Whatoh." She frowned, remembering their situation, and just as her friend realized moments earlier, the adrenaline pumping through her veins had stopped, and she was left in agonizing pain. Suddenly, she just wanted to go back to sleep, it hurt less in her sleep. 

"Cath, don't close your eyes." Sara pleaded, struggling to get onto her knees. The sun was out, halfway peeking out through the clouds. Someone would be out looking for them, they needed to move where they could be found. "We need to get up that hill." 

Both women stared for a moment at the cliff they had plunged off of, wondering how they were going to get back to the top of it. Sara rose to her feet, the world spinning around her as she tried to keep her balance, spots dancing before her eyes. 'Please don't let me pass out'. She thought wearily, shutting her eyes briefly and clutching her side as another wave of stabbing pain radiated from her cut. She looked down, lifting her shirt slightly to see the nasty gash. She needed stitches, and bad. 

"I can't exactly walk on my leg." Catherine said faintly, watching at Sara ripped the bottom of her t-shirt off, tying it tightly around her waist, trying to stop the bleeding from her gash. "You really need to find something to close that with." 

"What do you suggest, Catherine?" Sara spat out, "Leaves? This is the best I've got." She tore off another strip of her shirt, "I need to get your leg wrapped up, it's still bleeding, and I don't want it to get any more infected than it already will be." 

Catherine howled with pain as Sara wrapped the material around her broken skin, her whole leg feeling as though it were about to fall off. This was the first time she had ventured to look at the bone poking through the skin, and she wished she hadn't as she gagged, pressing the fist of her unbroken arm to her mouth and taking a deep breath. 

Sara leaned over Catherine, ripping some fabric off of her shirt as well, "You okay? I'm going to make you a sling for your arm, so you don't move it too much." 

"What, were you trying for a medical degree when you decided to go into forensics?" Catherine asked through clenched teeth as Sara jarred some more sore and aching body parts, "Or were you taking 'Torture 101'?" 

Sara was about to snap back at her, but one look at the pain etched in Catherine's face shut her mouth, and she bent over, grunting as she felt the blood seeping through her bandage, "I'm going to lift you up, put all of your weight on me, okay? I'll help you along, just put one arm around me and I'll keep you steady." Seeing Catherine's incredulous look, she said sharply, "You can trust me, I already told you I'd do anything to make sure you got back to your daughter." 

She pulled Catherine to her feet, well, foot, and grunted as she tried to balance herself and her colleague, while not further irritating the deep gash on the other side of her body, "Geez, how much do you weigh?" 

"You're such a bitch." Catherine muttered, dizzy with the surge of pain that had came as soon as her butt left the ground, "Leave me here, after you get help, come back for me." 

"Like hell I am." Sara replied, her voice steady and determined. She had to be the strong one, she was in better condition than her counterpart. Besides, she owed it to Catherine to rescue her, and if not Catherine, she definitely owed it to Lindsey. Pushing all of the pain aside, she slowly began to walk towards the hill they had tumbled down, careful not to inflict any more damage on Catherine. 

After only 15 steps, Sara was exhausted, her body weak, spots dancing in front of her eyes. "Cath?" 

"You okay?" Catherine asked, "You don't look so good. I don't think this is a good idea." 

Sara took a deep breath, fighting the nausea that was building up inside of her. She didn't think that vomiting on herself or Catherine would help the situation right now, and she certain she wasn't going to show any weakness to Catherine. She had to convince herself, and Catherine, that she was able to do this, it was the only way it would happen. She inhaled deeply, taking another step, "I'm fine, we can do this. I'm going to get us out of here." 

Almost half an hour later, they had managed to get through the easiest part of their journey, leaving Sara and Catherine trying to figure out how they were going to ascend the hill with so many injuries. Shifting Catherine's weight, Sara took the opportunity to evaluate her friend's state. Catherine was deathly pale, her breathing shallow, her skin shining with sweat. Her skin was burning hot to the touch, and Sara had a feeling that the sun was not helping out her friend's already weakened condition. She needed to get them out of this situation, and she needed to do it quickly. 

As soon as she put her foot down, she knew she had misjudged the muddy terrain. Her shoe slipped, and she lunged forward, unable to keep her balance, losing her grip on Catherine in one instant, feeling her ankle snap in two the next as she fell to the ground with a thud, blackness engulfing her once again. 

Replies still make the world go 'round...please let me know what you think! 


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, but I'd trade my Chemistry professor for the lot of them any day.

**Author's Notes**: Thank you all so, so much for the wonderful replies. You guys rocked my world, I'm glad to see so much interest and pleasant feedback. A lot of you mentioned the Catherine/Sara relationship, and if it's not clear already, a lot of the story will revolve around that, although we do get to see some of the fine males of the show in this chapter, even more in the next. I tried not to make things too dramatic, because even in a drama, things can get overdone, and I want to at least make you guys smile.

_Ms. Elizabeth Granger_: Yes, I'm about 10 years older than you, which all of a sudden makes me feel near ancient, and I'm definitely in college, because if I wasn't, I'd love to know where I spend those hours.

_Jessica Summers_: I"m glad I sound amazing, although I'm just your average girl. Glad you think I've added some comedy, at least that's coming through well. Haha.

_CMELO_: I'm glad you find me refreshing, I was going for something a little different, and I hope I achieve that.

_El matador_: I love explosions, it's a weakness of mine, it always adds for a little something extra in the plot, and well, being a Chemistry major, it's usually frowned upon to make things explode, so I have to get it out of my system.

Enough babbling, on with the story...Replies means a new chapter sooner rather than later (ah, yes, blackmail)

_Jenny _

_**Three:**_

"Sara? Catherine? Can you hear me?" Came a familiar Texan drawl, "Hey! Warrick! I've found them!"

Catherine heard the footsteps coming towards her, and she blinked open her eyes weakly, "Nicky."

"Hey there, you're awake." Nick said softly, "You're pretty banged up...the medics are trying to figure out how to get their stretchers down here, as soon as they do, we're going to get you taken care of. What happened?"

Catherine's mouth was dry, and she was barely able to whisper, "Lost control of the car. Sara?"

"She's unconscious, but she's breathing." Nick replied, "She'll be fine. I'm worried about you. We may have to amputate your leg, you know."

"What!" Catherine yelped, her eyes growing wide.

Nick shot her a playful smile, "Just kidding, it's a pretty nasty break though. Probably will need surgery to fix it."

"Bastard." Catherine replied, relieved to see him. At the moment, her ex-mother-in-law (whom she had always referred to as 'Miss Satan') would have been a welcome sight. "Took you guys long enough."

Nick sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. By the time the rain let up, we were stranded at the crime scene. We're just getting clearance for parts of the highway around here. I'm surprised you and Sara aren't underwater."

"Nicky, I hurt." She whispered, shutting her eyes and wincing as another fresh wave of pain flooded her body, "I'm so cold."

"You've lost a lot of blood." Nick replied, "But you're going to be okay. Just hang in there for a few minutes, the medics are almost all the way down here, they'll fix you up right good in a few minutes." He kissed her hand gently, "I'm going to check on Sara, but I'll be right here if you need something."

He turned his back to Catherine, kneeling besides Sara and letting a tear fall from his cheek to her face. Her body was cold to the touch, her skin a pale gray. If it weren't for the fact that her breathing was shallow and easy to hear and see, he would have thought she was gone. "Sara? Please wake up."

He got no response, and was soon pushed aside by paramedics trying to tend to the two woman. After finding out the hospital they were being transported to, he took out his cell phone, dialing a familiar number.

"Grissom, it's Nick. I found Cath and Sara, they're both in pretty bad shape, the paramedics are taking them to Desert Palm, I'll meet you there."

He waved over to Warrick, who was processing their car, and Warrick jogged over to him, "You ready?"

"Beyond ready." Nick replied, following Warrick up the steep incline to where their own Tahoe was parked. "They looked pretty bad." Nick muttered softly, resisting the urge to throw up. He never, ever wanted to see one of his friends, the people he called his family, in that position again, it was just too hard.

Sara's eyes fluttered and using the little energy she had, she blinked her eyes open. She knew they had to either be dead or rescued, because she didn't feel cold anymore, and she certainly didn't feel as much pain as she had the last time she could remember.

She felt the soft pillow beneath her achy head, and she gave a content sigh, they were saved.

Suddenly, the last events in her memory replayed, and she shot into a sitting position, ignoring the pain in her side and head, which were telling her to lay down and enjoy the soft pillow and the warm bed. "Catherine!" She gasped, her heart racing, her head pounding harder. She had fallen, she had let Catherine fall, she probably hurt her even worse than she had already been. What had happened to her friend? Was she dying? Dead? Were her co-workers all telling her goodbye without her?

At that moment, she realized someone else was in the room, and trying to push her back against her pillows. Struggling against the person, whom she still couldn't concentrate hard enough to focus on, she gasped, "I have to see Catherine."

The voice attached to the person restraining her finally made it's way to her ears, "Calm down, lay back, she's okay. They did surgery on her leg, she's in recovery, you can see her in the morning. Please, lay back down."

Sara obeyed, but only because she was too exhausted to do anything else but fall limp on her pillows. Her whole body ached, and she tried in vain to figure out who was speaking to her, but it was no use, she couldn't focus anymore. Giving in to the sleep that her body craved, she turned her aching head to the side and drifted off.

"She woke up for a few seconds." Warrick told Nick, as he walked into the room, two cups of coffee in his hands, "She was asking for Catherine."

"Thank God they're both okay." Nick replied, handing Warrick a cup of coffee, "I've never been so worried about anyone in my entire life. How did she seem when she woke up?"

"She was pretty out of it. I don't think she even realized I was here." Warrick replied, "She just wanted to see Catherine, I told her that Catherine was in recovery, and she went back to sleep. She seemed pretty freaked out though, like she expected the worst."

"She probably did." Nick replied, "They are so lucky things weren't terribly worse. Grissom just came out from seeing Catherine, they're about to move her into a room. I think they're going to get a double room, that way when they move Sara to a room, they can share."

"Our insurance is so cheap." Warrick said with a smile, "That's just their way of saving a few bucks...not that I'm arguing, it will make visiting a lot easier...but that just goes to show you..."

"Tell me about it." Nick replied, "Grissom says Cath's doing very well, all things considering, they used pins to reconnect the bones in her leg, she'll be in a cast for at least 6 months, it was pretty serious. There's some muscle damage as well, she's going to go through hell once she gets moving on it again. Her ribs didn't puncture any internal organs, which is great, she didn't have any internal bleeding. Her arm was broken in 3 spots, and they cast it. Nothing permanent though. He's going to fill out some paperwork and then we can all go see her. I think he wants some alone time with Sara."

Warrick nodded towards Sara, "They did a CT Scan, they don't think she'll really be coherent for a few days, she had a pretty bad concussion, they wanted to make sure there's no serious head injuries. They did say there was some swelling on her spine. The cut on her side required over 60 stitches. They had to give her a blood transfusion. They said that a few more hours of heavy bleeding and she wouldn't have made it. 3rd degree burns on her hands and forearms, probably from trying to shield herself when the car caught fire, and a serious fracture in her ankle, they're waiting for the swelling to go down a bit before putting on a cast."

"Ecklie sent his people out to the crash site to decipher what happened." Nick said softly, staring at Sara, "To see if it was an accident or if there was another vehicle involved." A chill ran down his spine, "If we wouldn't have found them..."

"Don't even think that way, man." Warrick replied, "Don't even think it. We did find them, and they'll both be okay."

"Just be grateful that you were able to find them, you saved their lives." Grissom said from the doorway, "Catherine's in room 416 if you want to see her. The doctor said he'll bring Sara upstairs in a few hours, as soon as they get her ankle taken care of and make sure she won't need any more blood."

"We'll go see Catherine." Warrick said, nodding at his boss and grabbing Nick's arm, leading him away, "You know where to find us."

"Thanks." Grissom murmured, sitting down in the chair Warrick had been occupying. Brushing her hair softly off of her face, he whispered, "Sara, you have to be alright, you hear me? I can't lose you or Catherine, you are the two most amazing women I've ever met."

"Gris?" She murmured, her eyes fluttering open, "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." He replied, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I rolled down a cliff." Sara replied with a wan smile, "Cath?"

Grissom smiled gently down on her, "She's going to be fine, no internal injuries, nothing that will hinder her in the future. She should be waking up soon..."

"I want to see her. Can you arrange that?" Sara asked, her eyes still plagued with worry, "Please."

Before Grissom could respond, her eyes had closed and she had fallen back asleep.

The next time she awoke, the sunlight had faded to darkness, and the room was silent. She opened her eyes slightly, relieved to find the room dark, the lights had hurt her eyes earlier in the day. She tried to shift into a sitting position, but only succeeded in creating a burning sensation radiating from her side, followed by intense nausea. Bringing a hand weakly to her mouth, she instructed her body silently, yet forcefully, not to let her down.

"Are you awake?" A raspy voice from her left called.

Quickly, too quickly by the stabbing pain that flooded her head, she turned her head to the side, "Cath?" she whispered, still trying to suppress the nausea, "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it looks like we're bunking together." Catherine replied softly, "It's about time you woke up, I was starting to worry."

"You!" Sara asked incredulously, "I've been worried sick about you all day."

"You've been sleeping for two." Catherine replied, raising her eyebrows, "I've been wondering what the fun of having a roommate was if all they did was sleep, sleep, sleep."

Sara rolled her eyes, wincing as even that slight movement sent pain flowing through her veins. "What do I have to do for some Tylenol in this place?"

"I'll get the nurse for you." Catherine replied, "It's almost time for shift to be over, I'm sure the guys will stop by on their way home."

Sara didn't answer, she just let herself rest against her pillows, the pain almost too much to tolerate. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but not in as much pain as I was before. They have really good drugs here." Catherine replied, "I'm hoping they'll release me in a few days. Dr. Richardson says I was really dehydrated, and my leg got a slight infection, so they're keeping me for observation. You, on the other hand, will probably be here awhile. A concussion, a serious infection where you were cut, broken ankle. I'm thinking they'll keep you for at least another week or two, maybe longer."

"I hate hospitals." Sara muttered, her body searing with pain, "I want some of your 'good drugs'."

Just as Sara finished speaking, a nurse walked into the room, smiling at Sara, "I'm glad to see you're finally joining us. My name is Anabel, and I'm going to be taking care of you for, oh," she looked down at her watch, "The next 3 or 4 hours. I'm going to need to turn on the light to check your pupils, okay?"

Anabel switched on the light over Sara's bed, and Sara visibly winced, the light sending new waves of pain through her already miserable head. "Well, I don't even have to ask about sensitivity to light."

"Your pupils are still a bit uneven, but that's not uncommon with such a severe blow to the head. I'm assuming you weren't wearing a seat belt? Shame, shame." Anabel said, turning off her penlight, "Are you dizzy, nauseous, confused?"

Sara wanted to give the woman a hug for finally switching off the light, instead, she tried to focus on what the woman was saying, "I'm a little dizzy, and very nauseous, but not confused or anything. I'm just so tired."

"I'm going to come right back with some anti-emetic medication to feed into your IV, for now, I've hooked up a morphine drip, just press the button if you need more than it's giving you, it shouldn't take too long to go into effect. I'm going to place a basin right here on your tray, in case you need to throw up. How's your foot feeling? Is the cast poking you in any places, any discomfort not related to the break itself?"

Sara looked down at her leg, which was covered in a dark purple cast, "No, it's fine. I barely even feel it."

"Wait until your headache goes away." Catherine muttered from her side of the room, "You'll feel it, trust me."

"What about your side? Is it giving you any trouble, itching, burning, any severe pain?" Anabel asked after giving Catherine a teasing smile, "Ignore your friend, she's just upset she's not in the spotlight anymore."

"Upset, or relieved?" Catherine quipped, "Finally, you've got someone new to pick on."

"Everything's fine, it's just my head." Sara replied sleepily, the morphine already beginning to work, "I'm so tired."

"Go to sleep, hon, that's the best way to heal your body." Anabel replied, "The doctor should be in to check on you around 9 am, until then, get some rest."

Sara's eyes were already closed, her breathing even, by the time Anabel had walked to the door.

"Figures, she'd go right back to sleep." Catherine muttered, "These hospitals really aren't equipped for someone who is used to staying up all night."

"Stop talking to yourself." Sara mumbled, still half asleep, "They'll lock you up for sure."

"Go back to sleep, sorry." Catherine replied, continuing her meaningless train of thought in her mind. Somewhere right before 7, she managed to fall asleep, only to be awakened an hour and a half later when the door opened and the three men in her life walked in.

_And another chapter lays to rest, you know what to do..._


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, not mine, not mine. I am interested in purchasing one or two of them if the opportunity becomes avaliable.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback, you guys are amazing. No, it's not going to be a slash story, because I'm not too sure if I know how to write that...that sentence sounds really stupid...anyway, I'm not sure about any future couplings, because every time I try to pair people together, the characters never come out right. Lord knows, I'm not sure if they're coming out right at this point anyway.

This chapter's going to be just a plot mover, a little bit of happiness before the storm. Well, that sounds ominous...

I'm almost out of pre-written chapters, so any suggestions anyone has, I may be able to toy with, I've only written up to six. I met with my academic advisor today, and I'm so pumped about next semester, that I have bundles of energy to disperse on my pet project here. I'm so close to getting my degree that I can almost feel it. Besides, my Lib. Arts electives have been Criminal Justice for so long that my advisor sees no problems with me double majoring and still finishing in the same time, and CJUS 401 is Forensics, so I'm just giddy all over. Yes, I have been told I'm a geek. Yes, I ramble.

_Jenny _

_**Four:**_

Catherine stifled a yawn, giving the guys a smile, "How was work?"

"We really miss you guys." Warrick replied, giving her a gentle hug, "How are you doing?"

Catherine sighed, "I'm bored out of my mind. I'm ready to go home!"

"You've got to let your body heal." Nick replied, "It's not going to do you any good to go home, have something happen, and be stuck in here any longer."

"You sound like Dr. Richardson." Catherine teased, "Grissom, please tell me that at least you're on my side."

"I don't take sides." Grissom replied, taking a seat in the chair between Sara and Catherine's beds, "How's your leg feeling today? Are you still taking your antibiotics?"

Catherine nodded, "It's doing a lot better, it hurts a lot less, at least, the parts without pins sticking out of it does." She stole a glance at Sara's bed, "Sara woke up a few hours ago. She was only awake for about 15 minutes, but she seemed to be doing okay, in pain, but okay."

"I'm glad she woke up, I was starting to worry." Nick said protectively, "People with head injuries shouldn't be allowed to sleep so long."

"It's just so her body can fight off the infection." Grissom said for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few days, "They're monitoring her concussion, she's healing beautifully. They know what they're doing Nick."

"I know." Nick replied, an expression on his face mirroring one of a three year old when he's told for the 15th time why he can't have a cookie before dinner. "I just worry about her, okay?"

"We all do, man." Warrick replied, "But you've got to trust the doctors to take care of her."

"Yeah, Nicky, they went to school for a long, long time so they can diagnose and rob us blind." Catherine added to the conversation, "Please tell me you guys remembered to bring me some real food?"

"I've got it!" Greg announced, entering the room, "Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, up-sized, with a large coffee. No onions, just like you like them."

"My hero!" Catherine exclaimed with a smile, "If you only knew how disgusting the food here was. My spaghetti last night looked even worse than the stuff they claim is food at Lindsey's school. Even the orange juice was bad."

"You could always been hooked up to an IV and not allowed to eat." Grissom pointed out, "Consider yourself lucky to be able to enjoy McDonald's."

"So, this is what you call 'Real Food'?" Warrick teased, "I could have brought you pork chops with rice and gravy, or mushroom chicken, even some baked Tilapia, but you wanted an extra value meal?"

"No, see, an extra value meal comes with a soda." Catherine explained, "But I don't want the soda, so I get the sandwich, the fries, and a large coffee...the price they'd charge you to substitute a coffee for the soda would defeat the purpose of calling it a value. There's a 13 cent difference."

"Are you really complaining over 13 cents?" Warrick asked with a smile, "Come on Cath, it's not like we make minimum wage here."

Catherine raised her eyebrows, "When it's 13 cents, times two, since I have to feed Lindsey too most of the tome, 3 times a day, sometimes 4 if I don't get any sleep, it really adds up. Fast food isn't cheap, you know. How much did this set you back, Greggo? About 5 bucks?"

"4.73." Greg replied, "You really eat out every meal?"

Catherine shrugged, "Not from McDonald's, but we do eat out very, very often."

"Like you can say anything." Nick accused the other men, "I know that both you and Greg eat out regularly, Warrick."

"Only because you're with us." Greg jabbed back with a smirk.

Grissom cleared his throat, "Now that we've established that CSI's don't eat as healthy as they should"

"Speak for yourself." Sara croaked from her bed, causing everyone to turn in her direction, "I eat very healthily."

"From McDonald's, too, might I add." Nick added, "You can't fool us. If it's not McDonald's or Wendy's, it's noodles and rice from the Golden Wok."

"Smart ass." Sara replied, yawning sleepily and pressing the button on her morphine drip as the throbbing in her head started again, "I know you're not eating that huge cheeseburger in front of me."

"It's not just a cheeseburger." Catherine replied with a smirk, "It's a double quarter pounder with cheese, pickles, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, but no onions, because Greg here has a marvelous memory. And I've got some hot, greasy, salty fries to go with it. Got a problem?"

Sara rolled her eyes, giving Catherine a smile, "How come I don't get any greasy, salty fast food? What's a girl got to do around here to get some pizza?"

"You can't have any yet." Grissom answered, "You're strictly on IV fluids and jello for the time being, until the doctors are sure your stomach can handle real food with the head injury, antibiotics, and pain medicines you're taking."

Sara nodded, remembering her earlier nausea and shuddering, "Jello, you said?"

"Why don't we start with water?" Nurse Anabel said, walking into the room with a pink pitcher and a cup, "How are you feeling, hon?" She stole a glance at Catherine, "And as for you, any smart comments this time around and I'll tell Dr. Richardson that you're having meals that aren't on your approved diet." She gave a playful wink to the guys, then turned back to Sara, "Time to check your bandages, it's going to be a barrel of laughs."

Sara glared at the nurse, "You said no interruptions until the doctor came."

"I lied." Anabel replied with a grin, "Since you're awake, I figured I'd spare you the pain of having Dolores, the day nurse, changing them. Unless you get off on pain."

Sara relented, shifting so Anabel could have easy access to her bandaged side, "When can I go home?"

Anabel looked over the top of her glasses at Sara, with an expression that gave Sara all the information she needed to go. Across the room, Warrick chuckled, "Sara, you may as well get comfortable, girl."

"It's not fair that Cath's going to get to leave before me." Sara complained, "Her injuries were more serious than mine."

"Stop acting like a baby." Nick teased, knowing full well he'd be acting the same way in her shoes, "If you would have been wearing your seatbelt properly, you wouldn't have hit your head."

"Actually, it's not the concussion keeping her here." Anabel said in Sara's defense, "If she wouldn't have been careless getting out of the car, she wouldn't have cut herself so badly...and with no cut, there would be no infection."

Sara glared between Nick and Anabel, "What is this, pick on Sara day?"

"It's an all-week celebration." Catherine smirked, "it's on the calendar and everything."

"Shut up." Sara muttered, wincing as a stubborn piece of gauze tugged at one of her stitches, "You've got terrible bedside manners." She muttered with a playful grin to let Anabel know she was teasing.

Anabel raised an eyebrow at her, then glanced over at Catherine, "Needless to say, she hasn't met Dolores yet."

"She hurts me and I'm not even the patient." Nick piped up from near the window, "She's a force to be reckoned with."

Catherine was about to pitch in another comment about the infamous Delores when the door burst open and Lindsey's blonde head popped in the room, "Mommy!"

"Oh, sweetheart!" Catherine exclaimed, accepting an eager hug from her daughter, "I've missed you so, so, so much."

"I saw you yesterday Mommy." Lindsey replied with a smile, "I brought a marker so I can sign the cast on your arm AND on your leg. Miss Karen says I have to be very, very careful though, or we can't watch Lilo and Stitch tonight."

"That's right, you must be very careful." Catherine replied, giving a smile to Lindsey's newest babysitter, 19 year old Karen Daigle, "How has she been, Karen?"

Karen gave Catherine a bright smile, "A complete angel, as usual. How are you feeling today?"

"Much better, now that I've got my Lindsey here." Catherine replied, giving Lindsey another huge hug, even though the pressure against her ribs was excruciating, "What are you guys doing today? I hear it's going to be a beautiful day."

"Miss Karen says I need to finish my homework, even though it's Saturday." Lindsey complained, "But after I'm done with it, I've only got 7 math problems left-I'm learning how to long divide!- we're going to go to the park and feed the ducks. And, if I'm good, Miss Karen says she'll buy me a snow-cone and if I'm still good, we're going to watch Lilo and Stitch AND she's going to cook tacos. Oh, and we're going to Miss Karen's grandma's house for lunch, and she's really cool. You'd like her Mommy."

"It sounds like you're going to have a very busy day." Catherine said with a smile, stroking Lindsey's hair with her good hand, "I don't want you wearing Karen out, okay? Behave yourself and give her a break. And finish that homework and let her check it."

"Is that a cheeseburger?" Lindsey asked, ignoring everything her mother had just said, "Can I have a bite? You'll never believe what Madison Carpenter did at school yesterday Mommy, she picked her nose! And there's a boy, his name is Drake, and he is in 7th grade, and Missy Johnson says that he's her boyfriend, but I don't believe her, because she's only in 3rd grade, and she's ugly, and she's mean." She said, changing subjects rapidly, "And Peter Johanssen made a 13 on the spelling test Wednesday! And Norah doesn't have anyone to talk to know, because she brought some icky fish things in her lunch and they made her smell, and Alyssa, who's one of the super cool kids, teased her, so now no one's her friend. She was crying." She leaned over and looked at the burger again, "Can I have another bite? And some french fries?" before waiting for Catherine to respond, she took the burger out of the cardboard box and took a few bites, "Can I go get a soda out of the machine?"

Warrick smiled at Catherine, "We know who she took after, Cath, and it's definitely you."

"I never take other people's food."

"My bagels." Sara immediately responded, followed by Grissom's "Egg Salad Sandwich."

Catherine looked over to Warrick and Nick, who both shrugged, Warrick replying with "Sausage at breakfast." and Nick adding, "You always sneak some of my fries."

"Don't forget my coffee." Greg smirked.

Lindsey, not wanting to be left out, added, "My Easter Bunny and Halloween candy."

"And we weren't talking about stealing food." Warrick said with a sly smile, "I was referring to the gossip. Both of you have motor-mouths."

"I want to be just like my Mommy." Lindsey replied, "I want to catch bad guys too...but only if there's no blood."

Catherine took her burger back from Lindsey and gave her a kiss on the top of her blonde head, "You need to get going honey, as much as I love having you visit, you know it's against the rules, I don't want you and Miss Karen to get in trouble."

"I wish I was older so I could stay with you all day and all night." Lindsey replied, "We'll come back to bring you dinner before we go home."

"Real food." Karen spoke up, "My Granny is cooking a pot roast and she's always got plenty of leftovers...comfort food helps the body heal."

A soft curse from Sara's bed caused a brief silence in the room, as everyone glanced in her direction. "I'm okay." She muttered, "Damn hands."

"They were burned in the fire." Catherine supplied, "Pretty badly, you hadn't noticed them before?"

"I knew they hurt, and I knew they were bandaged, but I didn't remember why." Sara replied, glaring at Anabel as she unraveled the bandages on her left hand, "In case you didn't catch that last part, I said they hurt."

Anabel flashed her a smile, replying, "I could leave them bandaged and you could stay here another few weeks while we wait for that infection to heal as well."

"Oh, shut up." Sara muttered, her earlier good mood fading rapidly as she remembered just how much she hated hospitals.

_I love replies, please make my perfect day even better..._


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: **I don't think the 28 dollar refund I got from my state taxes will cover buying them, so they still aren't mine. 

**Author's Notes:** I want to thank everyone for the wonderful, wonderful replies to the last part, I was tickled pink that I got so much response! You guys are amazing, and it really encouraged me to write...otherwise you guys would have had to wait until Monday for a new part. This will be the last update until Monday or Tuesday, I've got to go to my parent's house for Easter, we're doing it early so Mom and Dad can go on a cruise...My brothers, sister, and I have been trying to find a way to dodge this for a week now, and we don't have a way yet, so we're going to leave in about half an hour to start driving (It's a 12 hour drive from here, I'm just waiting on my sister to get off of work), I just wanted to give you something to tide you over. If I get a good response, I may be motivated to write one night while I'm at my parent's house... :-) 

It's not the best of chapters, but it does get the story ready to enter the last set of chapters...I predict 3 more to come. Call it a transitional chapter... 

_Jenny_

_**Five:**_

Sara had fallen back asleep before the guys had left, and by the time she awoke again, only Warrick remained, holding Catherine's good hand while she slept, his head resting on her hospital bed, his eyes shut. 

She knew immediately that her pain medication had completely worn off when the moment she opened her eyes, the light nearly blinded her and her whole body seized with pain. Moments later, she was fumbling for the basin beside her bed as she retched, her insides shaking with pain and embarrassment as Warrick made his way to her bed, pulling back her hair and steadying her with his hands. 

"Shh, it's okay Sara." He soothed, his voice filled with concern for his friend. Her body was shaking, yet it was extremely hot to the touch, and she barely seemed aware of his presence as she continuously vomited, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

After nearly 15 minutes, the spasms of her stomach stopped, and she fell back against Warrick, exhausted and weak, her head pounding worse than she had ever felt it before. 

"You going to be okay? Want me to get a nurse?" Warrick asked gently, helping her get situated against her pillows, "Want some water or anything?" 

Sara moaned weakly, "I'll be okay, I'm sorry." 

"Hey, no need to apologize. I'm a CSI, remember? It takes a lot more than that to gross me out. Here I was, thinking Sara Sidle was invincible, and I'm just finally glad to see you're human like the rest of us." Warrick teased, standing, "I'm going to get a washcloth for your face, you're burning up." 

"I'm worried about you." Catherine said softly from her bed, where she had halfway rolled onto her side, "It doesn't seem like your concussion's getting any better." 

Sara fumbled for the button to her morphine drip, only to look over and see it was no longer there. "Pain medication wore off. How long have I been sleeping?" 

"About 6 hours, they're giving you sedatives to keep you calm. Grissom's convinced the Dr. Richardson that you're a likely candidate to be checked out AMA. That, and the only time your fever seems to drop well is when you're resting. Dr. Richardson came in while you were sleeping, he told Grissom that you seem to be doing well enough to just have a regular dosage of Demerol every 4 to 6 hours, Dolores, the day nurse, will bring you some if you ask...at least, that's what they want you to believe. You may want to ask for something to settle your stomach, especially if you're going to be taking oral medication, it won't work if you throw it up." Catherine replied, her voice still showing concern, "You're flushed." 

"It's hot in here. Stop trying to be my mom. And I'm not going to check myself out AMA. I don't need to be knocked out, I just want to go home, I'm fine." 

"You're running a fever." Warrick interjected as he walked out of the bathroom, "They may need to adjust your antibiotics." 

He placed the washcloth on her forehead, and she smiled as the cool moisture hit her warm skin. It was amazing how one little change could make such a big difference. She let her eyes close again, but was only able to drift halfway to sleep. Her body was so tired, she couldn't even find the energy to open her eyes, so she laid in silence, vaguely aware of Warrick and Catherine's presence in the room. 

"She's not looking better." Catherine insisted, "Do you think there's something they aren't telling us?" 

"It's going to take her some time to heal. Vomiting isn't unusual for people with concussions, especially serious ones. Fever isn't unusual for an infection, you can't overanalyze things, Cath." Warrick argued, "They're keeping an eye on her, they think she's getting better." 

"Stop talking about me." Sara mumbled, almost incoherently, "Get a life." 

Warrick smiled down on Sara, knowing she at least had the same spirit she did a few days ago, before the accident, and then turned to Catherine, "I'll go talk to the nurse, see if she can bring Sara some of her pain medication in and an anti-emetic. You need anything, Cath?" 

"Diet soda, please." Catherine replied, motioning for him to grab her purse. 

Warrick shook his head, "Please girl, it's on me." He looked down at Sara, "I'll be back in a few minutes." 

As Warrick left the room, Sara managed to drift off into another dreamless sleep. 

Nearly 72 hours later, she awoke with a scream, her fists flailing around her as someone inflicted a tremendous deal of pain on her aching body. 

"Get off of me!" 

"Sara, Sara, calm down. It's Dr. Richardson, can you hear me? I'm just changing your bandages, it's okay, I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to help you get better." 

"You're hurting me." Sara cried, tears pooling in her eyes, her mind confused. What was going on? Where was she? What was happening? 

A familiar voice called out from behind the doctor, "Sara, settle down, he's almost done." 

"You're not in bed anymore." Sara said slowly, as the last few days replayed through her mind, "Don't tell me they discharged you." 

"Free and clear." Catherine replied from a chair near Sara's bed, "Well, for the most part. I am stuck staying with my sister, since I can't really do much on my own, but I do get to stay and visit you, which, actually, has been a real drag. All you've been doing is sleeping, and when you were awake, you were so incoherent that it wasn't even funny to tease you." 

Sara mentally overrode her reflex to kick the doctor as he tugged on another bandage, focusing on Catherine, "How long have you been out?" 

"Why, are you jealous?" Catherine retorted, only to be interrupted by Anabel as she walked in, a new pack of gauze in her hand as she met the doctor next to the bed, "Sara, hon, don't listen to her, she's only been discharged for about 9 hours, and she's spent 4 of them here with you." 

"Watching me sleep? What kind of sick fetish" 

"Don't even go there." Catherine said, waving her hand at Sara, "I've been worried, we all have, about you, and I figured you'd be scared when you finally decided to wake up, thought you'd like a familiar face." 

Sara blushed slightly, honestly surprised that Catherine had thought this much about her. Sure, they had been getting along fantastically since the accident, but now that Catherine was free, well, she expected her to spend all of her time until the casts were off with Lindsey, she had always assumed once Catherine was out, she'd just be alone. 

"Speaking of people going home," Dr. Richardson cut in, disrupting Sara's mental interrogation, "Miss Sidle, before we are able to discharge you, we need to find someone you can stay with, or who can stay with you. It will be difficult for you to manage with the burns on your hands and the broken ankle. Do you have any relatives in the area?" 

"She can stay with me." Greg said from the doorway, "Wouldn't that be exciting, not to mention...well...never mind. What do you think?" 

Sara looked at the doctor, raising her eyebrows with a smile, "He wouldn't have to like, bathe me or anything, would he? Because I think he'd enjoy that a little too much." 

"I'll pay you 200 bucks to tell me I have to give her a sponge bath." Greg deadpanned the doctor, which resulted in a snort of laughter from Catherine. 

"Do you have something to say, Cath?" Greg asked, his eyebrow raised. 

Catherine shook her head, leaning towards Sara, "I bet you didn't know he'd pay to see you naked." 

"Believe me, I knew." Sara said with a faux-serious look on her face, "Sure Greggo, why not, it could be fun." 

"Staying with me or the sponge bath?" Greg quipped, resulting in a smack on the arm from Catherine. "Hey, just wanted to be clear." He turned to the doctor, "When can she leave?" 

Dr. Richardson taped some new bandages back on Sara's slowly-healing cut, "Even though we had a bumpy start, her concussion seems to be healing marvelously, her infection seems to be nearly gone, and she hasn't had a temperature in 24 hours, so as long as nothing changes overnight, she's free to leave in the morning. Now Sara, in case I don't see you before you're discharged, I'm going to prescribe you some antibiotics, which I want you to take until the entire prescription is gone, and I'm going to prescribe you some Demerol tablets, with one refill. One every 6 hours, as needed, don't take more than that, and if the pain is severe enough to warrant a second pill, I want you back in here immediately. I'm also going to prescribe you a sedative, in case of any anxiety related to the accident and any discomfort that doesn't warrant pain medication. It will help you sleep, which will help your body heal, but you only need to take it when you feel you need it. Change the dressing on your hands once a day, until the draining stops, and once the draining stops, you can leave the bandages off. If you have a problem with the pain, try soaking them unwrapped in lukewarm water, with baking soda mixed in, for 15 minutes at a time, let them air dry, then wrap them again. I do not want your side submerged in water for 2 or 3 more days, although a quick shower is okay." 

"She could use one." Greg said, earning a glare from Sara, "And if you need any help." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, earning yet another glare. 

"I'll leave this all written down with the nurse, and you can call my office with any questions. I'd like to see you again in a week to check up on you." He gave her shoulder a light squeeze, "You're doing very well, obviously you're determined to heal." 

"See, even the doctors think you're stubborn." Catherine teased as Dr. Richardson walked out of the room, "If you don't like staying with Greg, you're more than welcome to come home with me. I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind one more crippled woman, and Lindsey seems to like you a lot." 

"I'm sure it'll be fine with Greg." Sara said with a small smile, "I can't put your sister out! I just want a long, hot shower, and my own comfortable pajamas." She flashed a bigger grin at Catherine, nodding towards Greg, "But if you want to come over later, in your pajamas too, I'm sure Greg wouldn't mind." 

"We'd give him a heart attack." Catherine smirked in response, "I'm not so sure Greggo's ever seen a half-dressed woman before." 

"I have too!" Greg argued, "Even naked ones." He let out a low growl, sending Catherine and Sara into fits of laughter. 

Catherine wiped a tear from her eye as she tried to catch her breath, "That alone proves my point. We will have to visit though." 

"How long until I can go back to work?" Sara asked, tilting her head to the side as she peered at Anabel, who was checking her blood pressure, "I mean, I know it'll be awhile before I can get out into the field, but what about lab work?" 

"Grissom wants both of us out for at least another week." Catherine supplied, "Paid, and not coming out of our vacation time. After that, he said light duty in the lab, paperwork, helping out Greg, reviewing cold cases, until we're ready to work full time again." She tapped on her broken leg, "I'll be out of commission for at least 6 months, probably longer, depending on my physical therapy." 

"Your cast will be coming off in about 10 weeks," Anabel told Sara, "If all heals like it's supposed to. You'll need to do physical therapy as well, to get full range back in your ankle. It will probably take 2 or 3 months until your hands will be ready to get back into the swing of things. Once the bandages come off, which probably won't be for a few days, they'll be very sensitive and shaky. Severe burning often causes nerve damage. We may have to do some rehab with your hands while waiting on your foot to recover." 

"Gee, that sounds fantastic." Sara muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Greg, please tell me you brought food with you." 

Greg motioned to the chair in the corner, where a brown bag laid, the top rolled shut, "Why, of course, anything for you." 

"What did you get me?" Sara asked, sitting up and only slightly wincing at the stab of pain in her side. She still hurt, but she definitely could tell she was getting better. At least her head had stopped hurting... 

Greg pulled out a plastic container, handing it to an eager Sara, "A grilled cheese sandwich and a yogurt cup. I made the sandwich myself." 

"Look how proud he is." Catherine teased, stifling a yawn. "Greg, if you have it from here, I'm going to call my sister to come pick me up, I'm beat." 

"No problem, I know how to entertain the ladies." Greg replied teasingly, raising his eyes suggestively at Sara, "We're just waiting for you to leave." 

"You're such a loser." Sara laughed, taking a bite of the sandwich, "But you do make good food." 

"That's not the only thing I do well." 

"Stop hitting on me." Sara said with another delighted laugh. She had missed her friends over the last few days in the hospital, and as annoying as Greg's flirty banter could be, she was really flattered that he took the time and energy to hit on her. 

Greg flashed her a smile, relieved to see her laughing. He had been so scared when he heard about the accident, he couldn't fathom what he would do without Sara. Sure, he knew that she was out of his league, but he enjoyed flirting with her so much, and he could tell she didn't mind it, so he continued to tease her with his lewd comments and innuendos. He'd do anything to see the smile and gentle blush on her cheeks. 

"So, roomie, I'm going to have to do some shopping...what do you like to eat? I know it's no meat, but what do you really like? And don't even try to tell me 'it doesn't matter', because even though you're injured, I'll still beat you down for that." 

Sara rolled her eyes, "Yeah right, gentle Greg? Seriously, I like fruit, yogurt, pasta, popcorn...I'm not really that picky." 

"It's a good thing you like simple foods, because I suck at cooking" 

"The grilled cheese was pretty good." 

Greg smirked, "As I was saying, I suck at cooking real good. The simpler, the better. Although I do make a mean chocolate cake." 

"You know..." Sara began with a yawn, "Someone once told me that chocolate was better than sex." 

Greg laughed, "That person obviously hadn't gotten any for awhile. Sex is definitely better than chocolate." 

"I think it depends on the chocolate." Sara replied sleepily, stifling another yawn, "Sometimes I'd definitely take chocolate over the horizontal tango." 

"I disagree, sex is always better, no ifs, ands or buts about it." Greg replied, "No matter what you say, sex will always be better." 

Sara raised her eyebrows with a smile, "Care to place a wager on that? We can set up a field experiment and test this theory." 

"First off, stop hitting on me when you're crippled, drugged, and hospitalized. Secondly, that sort of experiment should not take place in a field, with all of the burrs and bugs...a motel room, maybe, a lab, maybe." 

Sara laughed, swatting at his arm, "I'm not hitting on you, I'm just teasing. And you're not even funny, you know what I meant." She laughed harder, clutching her side as pain soared through her abdomen, "Could you see Grissom's face if he walked in on our experiment in the lab? That would be priceless." 

"How much Demerol have they given you?" Greg teased, "You're so doped up, it's not even funny." 

Catherine smirked, "Too much, apparently. In a way, I'm glad to be getting out of here, just in case things get a little too carried away." 

"And she finally agrees to let me have her right here in her bed?" Greg said, his eyebrow raised again. "Yeah, you should give us the privacy. 

Cocking her head to the side, Catherine smiled at Sara, "Call if you need anything, and if he gets too perverted, you can just kick him out and call Nicky, I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to let you stay at his place." 

"I know." Sara replied, looking down at her cast, which already held the names of her co-workers, "See you tomorrow?" 

"Definitely." Catherine replied, "The guys are going to come by after work to visit you, and tomorrow we can all have dinner together before they go in. Warrick's going to drive me, he's agreed to be my chauffeur when my sister isn't available." 

"I bet he's going to love that." Greg and Sara said in unison, earning a surprised look from Catherine, "What do you mean?" 

"Nothing." Sara replied, with an expression reminescent of the phrase "the cat that ate the canary" plastered on her face, "Warrick's just a good friend." 

"We don't have those kind of feelings." Catherine replied, her eyes narrowing, "You're loopy from the drugs." She turned to face Greg, "And you're just loopy. Mind wheeling me out front?" 

Greg gave her a bow, "Your wish is my command." 

"Say that to Sara and you might get laid." Catherine laughed, smiling over her shoulder at Sara as Greg led her down the hall, leaving Sara to lay in bed and wonder why she had agreed to stay with Greg, of all people. If anyone could get under her skin as much as Grissom could, it was Greg. Sure, the flirting was all in fun, but in the back of her mind, she always wondered if he was serious, and how serious he was. Sure, she made her sexual jokes, but being around someone who constantly made them gave her the creeps, and she wasn't sure she'd be comfortable in that situation for weeks. 

Looking around at the 4-walled prison (labeled room 416), she decided anything was better than a hospital room, and who knows, maybe Greg would behave and they could build up their friendship. Lord knows, she didn't have many friends, and with the way she had been attracting trouble, she could use a few people on her side. 

_(Let me know what you think! I still love feedback!)_


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own them, but if you ever see the opportunity to buy them on Ebay, let me know.

**Author's Notes:** Well, here's another bit, I'm almost finished with the next part, which picks up pace a bit. I'm still interested to know what you think, I've gotten so many nice reviews and I really appreciate that! This was going to be a bit longer, but with limited amount of online time, I wanted to catch up on some reading, and I didn't want to get started on the next part and cut you guys off in the middle of something. Thank you for everyone who took the time to reply, remember to please do so again.

I'm so relieved to be home, I'm never riding with my brothers and sister again, anywhere. We were supposed to be back yesterday, around lunch time, and my sister and oldest brother got food poisoning, so we were stuck in the middle of nowheresville Texas, at a rinky dink hotel probably full of germs and creepy crawlies I don't even want to think about, trying to take care of them, Jamie and Jake are such babies when they're sick, I swear. Writing is therapeutic, so I may have a new part out by morning, haha.

_Jenny_

**_Six:_**

Catherine laid on her sofa, lazily clicking the buttons on the remote control, her eyelids drooping. Her leg was propped up on several pillows, which Lindsey constantly came to fluff, now that school was over, and her injured arm was draped over her stomach, the neon yellow wrap making it hard for her to concentrate on TV, since it was in her peripheral vision, and she was too lazy to find another spot for it. That was the side effect she hated most about her pain medication, the drowsy, out-of-body feeling it gave her once she took them.

She didn't even hear the knock on the door, it was only when Lindsey shook her sore shoulder that she looked up from the monotonous clicking of TV channels, "What?" She gasped as pain shot through her arm, "Lindsey, remember to be careful."

"Sorry Mom." Lindsey said, looking down slightly as a tremor shook her lip. She had been very emotional since the accident, afraid that her mother was going to leave like her father had, and the smallest things had been sending her into a fit of emotions since Catherine had been home. "But Mr. Warrick's here to see you."

"You don't need to call me Mister." Warrick said with a smile, tousling Lindsey's hair gently, "Just Warrick."

Catherine took Lindsey's hand into her own, and pulled her into a tight, yet painful, hug, "I'm sorry I snapped at you baby, you just surprised me."

"It's okay Mommy. I'm going to go play with Tucker, he has a pet snake." She said, referring to the young boy that lived next door, "Bye Warrick."

"How are you feeling?" Warrick asked, helping Catherine as she struggled to sit, "You look...disoriented."

Catherine motioned to the pain medication sitting on the table, "Drugged up." She gave Warrick a sleepy smile, stifling a yawn, "It's hard to get my wheelchair going, since my arm barely functions, so by the time I get halfway across the house, my arm hurts worse than it did when I broke it, Darvocet takes the edge off. Although, it doesn't do much for my alert personality."

"I like you even when you're all drugged up." Warrick teased, sitting beside her and rubbing the back of her neck gently, "Everyone at work is asking about you, it's not the same without you, and Sara, of course. It's just too quiet without you guys to liven things up. Even Ecklie seems to have lost his spark...of course, that's probably because he's got some of his people covering our shift..."

"It's not like he'd actually care that we're hurt." Catherine said with a sigh, "So, have you been busy, or has crime taken a vacation?"

"3 multiple db's last night." Warrick said, nodding in agreement as Catherine's eyebrow's raised with a surprised grin, "Not to mention the 2 B&E's, and 1 domestic disturbance."

"I'm sure last shift was a riot, then." Catherine replied, "Glad to have some help from days, right?"

"We had two people from Ecklie, and we also had Greg pitching in. He was on cloud nine, you should have seen his face. You'd think we just told him that Santa was real and was bringing him last month's playboy bunnies for a present."

"I can imagine." Catherine said, her smile growing, "So, you're early, I didn't expect you for a few more hours, and after hearing how busy you've been, I'm surprised you're not at home sleeping."

"I knew you'd probably be getting tired of being alone, you know, misery loves company. Thought you'd enjoy a friendly face. If you want me to leave..."

Catherine forcefully shook her head, "No, not at all. I'd love for you to stay, I was just surprised, that's all. Want something to drink?"

Warrick shook his head, smiling at his coworker. She was wearing grey jogging pants, one leg pulled up over her cast, and a light blue tank top, which showed off her body very nicely. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, but even sloppy, it looked beautiful. He blushed slightly as he realized she was watching him check her out, and motioned to the TV, "Anything on?"

"I really don't know." Catherine laughed, "I've been flipping channels for hours now, I don't really watch anything regularly, so I don't know what to watch. What I really want to do is go back to the lab, I'm going stir-crazy here."

"Believe me, we miss you at the lab. Maybe you can come in for awhile and just hang out, if you're bored here. An extra pair of eyes never hurt, and if you're up to it, physically, to be out and around, I don't think Grissom would mind." Warrick suggested, knowing if he was laid up at home, he'd be wishing he was back at work, just doing something. That was one thing the CSI's shared in common, they didn't like to be listless, they wanted to be kept busy.

Catherine's eyes met Warrick's, and she shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, I'd love to be out of the house, and I wouldn't mind seeing everyone at work, even helping out in the lab, but a whole shift? I would be exhausted when Lindsey was getting up in the morning, and if my leg or my arm started hurting, it's not like you guys could put down your cases and bring me home, and I couldn't ask my sister to get Lindsey up and bring her out just to get me."

"Yeah, I see that." Warrick relented, "But if you change your mind..."

"I know." Catherine smiled, "So, what do you want to do until it's time to go to dinner?"

"You ever play poker?"

Sara leaned against Greg's kitchen counter with her elbow, trying to figure out a way to carry a bag of chips and her soda into the living room, on her crutches, without spilling it. She knew she was too sore to make two trips, her hands were in excruciating pain after the short walk from the living room, to the bathroom, then to the kitchen, the burns hurting a lot worse once the pressure of her body was exerted on them. She should have listened to the nurse at the hospital and taken a wheelchair, then she could have Greg move her around, but stubborn Sara didn't want to be dependent on anyone. If she knew then what she knew now, she would gladly accept the blue wheelchair over her stupid metal crutches.

She slipped the can of soda into the waistband of her pajama pants, picking up the bag of chips with her teeth, and wearily grabbed her crutches. Greg had put some extra padding around the handles, hoping it would cushion her hands and lessen the pain, and Sara vaguely wondered what it would feel like without the cushioning, if it hurt this much with it. She grabbed the other crutch, groaning as she accidently shifted her weight onto her bad foot. She made a mental note to talk to the doctor about getting a walking cast, and tried to see if she could shift her weight any other way but on her arms and hands.

After giving up hope that the searing pain in her hands would cease, she hobbled slowly into the living room, collapsing on the old, beat up sofa, and letting her crutches fall to the floor. Once her hands stopped throbbing, she'd move them somewhere out of the way, until then, she didn't want to touch anything.

Greg's apartment was a little nicer than she had expected, although it was vaguely like the apartments of her guy friends back in college. The living room was basic, white walls, a press-board entertainment center with a 29 inch TV against the center wall, a small desk with a newer looking computer in one corner, in the other a bookshelf, also press-board, which was full of science books and old college texts. Against the back wall was Greg's couch, a dark brown with several stains, probably a hand-me-down, but very comfortable. Greg had covered it with a sheet, and found three bed pillows to make her more comfortable, as he used the couch's two brown throw pillows to prop up her injured ankle. On the counter separating the kitchen and living room sat a nice stereo system, wireless speakers mounted throughout the living room, creating a surround sound system nicer than anyone's that Sara could remember.

She hadn't been in his bedroom, although she caught a glimpse of it as he hurriedly shut the door once they had arrived at the apartment. From what she could see, it was cluttered, posters on the walls, a blacklight bulb in his lamp. Clothes were strewn on the floor, along with what she could only hope were _science_ magazines. If she had seen a picture of his room, messy and disorganized, and then seen a picture of the rest of his house, fairly clean and maintained, she would never have guessed both belonged to Greg.

He had picked her up, looking exhausted and depressed (she later found out it was just from his headache), and he had told her the tale of how he got to work out in the field, twice, the shift before. She had been instantly jealous of the activity at the lab, but had kept her mouth shut, because obviously Greg had been working hard and had a rough night. He was surprisingly quiet on the way to his apartment, and after making sure she had everything she needed, he had crashed in his bedroom, not stirring since 9:30 am.

She took a sip of her soda, flipping to CourtTV to see if anything interesting was playing, but once she saw it was a repeat of an already seen "Forensic Files", she lost interest and began to think of other ways to occupy her mind. Greg had been asleep for nearly 9 hours, and she knew it was time to get him up so they could be ready to go out to dinner with the others, but the thought of getting up with her crutches again stopped her from venturing into his bedroom to wake him.

She waited a few minutes, debating on whether or not to just call for him, when a knock sounded at the front door. She cursed slightly, having to maneuver the 'death sticks' and slowly hobbled to the door, opening it to reveal a bright-eyed, fresh Nick Stokes.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, backing up so he could enter. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Couldn't resist stopping by to check in on you, since it's your first day out. How are you feeling?" Nick asked, looking her over and trying to determine her condition with a scrutinizing eye, "You look pale."

"I'm tired." Sara replied, shifting her weight and wincing as the side of her crutch hit the still-sore cut on her side, "I hate this."

"Let me help you." Nick said gently, bending over and scooping her up into his arms, carrying her into the living room and setting her down on the couch, "You shouldn't be moving around so much, you're going to hurt yourself. Stay put, okay?"

"The stop knocking on the door." Sara teased, "Since you don't want me moving around, care to go wake up Greg?"

Nick looked towards Greg's shut door, then glanced back at Sara, "You don't think he sleeps nude, do you?"

"God, I hope not." Sara replied, "At least for your sake. We're going to be late if he doesn't get going, though."

Nick nodded in agreement, crossing the room and knocking gently on the door. Receiving no answer, he pushed it open and ventured inside, stepping over video games, clothing, and various car, science, and swimsuit magazines, until he reached the bed. Shaking Greg's shoulder gently, he whispered, "Greg?"

He got no answer, and tried again, shaking him a little harder, "Greggo, wake up."

"Sara." Murmured Greg, rolling over and trapping Nick's arm under his shoulder, "Mmm...Sara."

His eyes sleepily opened as Nick tried to remove his hand, and once he saw the man standing over him, Greg let out a loud shriek, "Nick!"

"Yeah, I'm still not Sara." Nick teased, embarrassed for his friend, "She wanted me to let you know it was time to get up. It's getting late."

"I...I wasn't dreaming about her." Greg stammered, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "It wasn't like that. You believe me, right?

"Sure." Nick laughed, walking back towards the door, "And I also believe in the tooth fairy. Take a cold shower, kiddo, you definitely need it after that mental experience."

_(Yes, no, maybe so?) _


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer:** Even if I got a huge pay raise, I couldn't even afford the clothes off of their backs...if I could, I'd start with the male t-shirts and work my way down. 

**Author's Notes:** Here's the last bit of happiness for awhile, if things go as planned, there will be a little drama in the next chapter...Thank you to all who replied to chapter six, you guys are great. I hope you continue to enjoy this as I continue, and I'm glad that I'm getting the characters down good. I like happy interaction, I think it builds more on the story than descriptions do sometimes, because while they all interact on the show, it's never enough 'playful' interaction for my liking. Hope you guys enjoy, leave a note on your way out please! 

_Jenny_

_**Seven:**_

"How are you holding up?" Catherine asked Sara, as she exhausted collapsed onto the chair at the diner the team regularly frequented, "You look awful." 

"Gee, thanks Cath, you look amazingly beautiful, as always." Sara snapped, resisting the urge to take her crutch and throw it through the glass window. She had always thought the thing she hated most was showing weakness in front of those who saw her at her strongest, but suddenly she'd cry in front of all of them, just to get off of those miserable crutches. She saw Catherine's shocked face, and sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I just hate being so...so..." 

"Helpless?" Catherine suggested, "Tell me about it. I can't wait until I'm up on my feet again. The things we take for granted...walking, soaking in a hot bath, walking, walking, and did I mention walking?" 

Sara smiled, "So we're on the same page then?" 

"At least you get to use crutches. If it weren't for my stupid arm..." Catherine muttered, glaring down at her cast, "I'd give anything to be on crutches, at least you have mobility." 

Sara glared at the sticks, which Greg had slid under the chair for her, "Oh, I'm not so sure." 

"Sara's definitely not getting along with the crutches." Nick informed Catherine, "Or they're not getting along with her." 

"Oh, are we going to talk about when Sara fell into the mud outside of my apartment?" Greg asked, spinning around a chair to sit backwards on it as he approached the table. Seeing Sara's evil glare, he said slowly, "I guess not." 

"How about when you stumbled and nearly pulled my pants down?" Nick asked, flashing a grin at Sara, who tried to glare at him, but laughed instead when Nick's smile widened. 

"Oh, you know you wanted it." Sara muttered, looking at Greg, who was smiling, "You too, I heard what you said this evening when Nicky went into your room." 

Greg turned red, looking down at the table, suddenly interested in a chip on the surface. Seeing his discomfort, Catherine leaned in, "What did I miss?" 

"Greg was having kinky dreams about our Sara." Nick said, still grinning at his coworkers, from the beet red Greg to the laughing Catherine, to the slightly blushing Sara. "He thought I was her when I went to wake him up, I thought he was going to pull me into bed with him." 

"Now you're going a bit overboard." Greg said defensively, "It wasn't a wild kinky dream, it was just a dream about Sara." 

Sara tilted her head to the side, glancing at Greg, "Do you have these dreams often?" 

"Why are you so interested? Does that make you happy?" Greg retorted, earning an eye roll from his current roommate. "Does it make you...excited?" 

"Put a sock in it, Greg." Sara warned, grinning at Warrick approached the table, "Or we'll just have to tell Warrick about your dreams." 

"Or better yet, let's wait for Grissom." Catherine teased, almost feeling sorry for Greg, the way everyone was teasing him. "Unless, of course, you're dreaming about the rest of us too, because in that case, I don't want to hear it." 

"And you think I do?" Sara laughed, "Yeah, we should definitely tell Grissom, this could count as inappropriate conduct." She teased, winking at Greg. 

The table fell silent as a voice asked, "What inappropriate conduct?" 

One by one, each member of the team turned to face Grissom, their playful smiles fading as they tried to think of a way to make this conversation sound a little more...well, appropriate. 

"Your shift thinks it's amusing to tease me about dreams..." Greg gulped as he thought of how Grissom could ask him what kind of dreams he was having, and then blurted out, "Nightmares, actually." To cover up the sexual content everyone knew had plagued his subconscious the night before. 

Sara choked on her coffee, her eyes wide and slightly indignant, "Nightmares, oh?" 

If looks could kill, Sara would be a goner this time. Greg stared hard at her, trying to telepathically explain his reasoning, not wanting to offend her in the least bit, although he was pretty sure she wasn't actually mad. Clearing his throat, he nervously jumped up and motioned towards the counter, "I'll go make our order, what do you guys want?" 

As Greg scrambled away, the rest of the group started to laugh. Grissom, not knowing what was going on, shook his head in amusement, obviously knowing they weren't telling him something, but unsure as to what exactly it was they were keeping a secret. It was so nice to see his team getting along again, things had been growing tense at the lab, and for once, it felt like old times, where they could share a meal and visit, no one at each other's throats, nothing hanging over their heads. 

Once the laughter had died down, Sara spoke softly, looking almost nervous, to Grissom, "Do you think I could come in tonight? Help out around the lab or something? I don't think I can spend another night alone." 

"You just got out of the hospital!" Nick chided, "You should be at home, resting and recuperating, not knee-deep in work. You've got to take care of yourself." 

Sara rolled her eyes, taking a sip of coffee, "I'm fine, Nick. I just don't want to be alone, is that a problem?" She turned to Grissom, hoping she hadn't winced as the movement caused a stab of pain in her side, "If it gets to be too much, I'll go back to Greg's, and I'll just help out, nothing strenuous." 

"I don't think that would be a problem." Grissom replied, giving Nick a stern look as he started to protest, "You can assist Greg in the lab for awhile, maybe look over some cold cases. But the moment you start hurting or you get tired, I want you back at Greg's, in bed, no if's, and's, or but's about it." 

"Thank you!" Sara exclaimed excitedly, a grin spreading across her face. It had been driving her crazy not to be working, she hated being bored and still. The prospect of working a case, even one deemed unsolvable in the past, was thrilling to her, and a definite step up from what she was doing at Greg's: nothing. 

Warrick smirked, "You'd think you just told her she won the lottery, the way she's acting. You know Gris, I could trade with her...she can do my work, and I can go to Greg's and veg out on his sofa." 

"The only person I want vegging on my sofa is myself and Sara, since she's living with me." Greg said as he sat back down at the table, "Are you sure you're up to working tonight, Sar? Did you get enough rest today?" 

Sara rolled her eyes, "Stop babying me, guys, I'm fine. All I've done since the accident is rest, I can take care of myself, you know." 

"You can't even walk on your crutches." Nick smirked, earning a jab in the side from Sara. Laughing, he continued, "Although it was really cute to see you sprawled out on the ground, mud everywhere." He tilted his head to the side, "You've still got a little in your hair, you know." 

Sara, not being able resist a comeback, retorted, "At least I didn't almost sleep with Greg." 

"That's not how it sounds." Greg stammered as Grissom's face registered shock, "It really isn't." 

Grissom held up his hand, "No, no, I don't want to know anything about it. I'll pretend this conversation never happened." 

"If Sara's going in, I guess I could keep her company looking at cold cases." Catherine said softly, determined to show she was just as strong as her coworker. Even though they were on friendly terms now, that didn't mean she wanted the other woman to outdo her. "I think I've watched all 400 channels on my satellite system." 

Warrick reached over the table to grab the coffeepot, tensing a bit when he brushed up against Catherine's arm. He smiled at her, pulling the pot closer to him so he could pour a second cup, "Want some more?" 

"Sure." Catherine replied, blushing slightly as a rush of heat filled her body. _When did Warrick start looking so handsome? Had he touched her on purpose? His skin felt so soft, how she wanted him to do it again._ She shook her head slightly, wanting to smack herself. It must be the pain medication, because this was not how she normally thought of her Warrick. _Her Warrick?_ Oh Lord, things were getting crazier and crazier by the second. Maybe going home wouldn't be a bad idea right now. _Only if he was with me..._ That was it, she had to stop taking the meds, she was starting to talk to herself. 

Warrick filled her cup, watching as a blush crept into her cheeks. _Did she know just how much he wanted to touch her, even if it had been an accident? Did she mind? Did she have any idea how soft and smooth her skin was? _He poured some sugar into his cup, trying to catch up with the conversation he had missed while thinking about Catherine. 

Across the table, Greg was staring intently at Sara, who was flirting and joking with Nick, trying not to feel jealous. Of course, she made the same flirty banter with him, it was how she related to her male coworkers, at least the ones she was comfortable with, but it was different when it was Nick. Or maybe it was different because she was living with him. Whatever it was, he wanted the conversation to end, right then. He wanted to wring his own neck, he had never been the jealous type, not until now. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they had put something in the coffee, because he was definitely not feeling like himself. 

"Oh, come on, you know you missed me." Sara teased Nick, "I'm sure all week you've been thinking, 'Gee, it's just not the same without Sara, no one to help me break cases, it's so hard without her'. You know it, Nicky, you'd be lost without me, that's why we're always partnered together." 

Nick smiled, retorting, "It's not the same, alright, it's a lot quieter. I go home with a lot less headaches, and I'm enjoying having a break from being proved wrong about everything. And we're partnered together, because I'm the only one who doesn't mind being challenged on everything." 

"Shut up." Sara said, returning his smile and turning to Grissom, "See how impossible he is? You really need to work on his attitude." 

"My attitude?" Nick scoffed, "Gris, if anyone needs a personality adjustment, it's Miss Sara here." 

"I'll adjust you" Sara threatened, although the laughter in her eyes disputed every one of her words, "You better watch out Nicky, never tease a lady who can kill you and leave barely a trace of evidence." 

Nick looked around the table, not able to hide his huge grin, "Do you see a lady here, Rick?" 

"Nope, not at this table." Warrick laughed, ducking as a pack of sugar flew out of Catherine's hand and headed for his head, a balled up napkin from Sara. "Although she's got a point, she knows how to cover her tracks pretty well." 

"It all boils down to who's a better CSI." Nick argued, "Who knows more about what they're doing." 

Greg couldn't help but add to the conversation with, "Well, Nick, the only way to prove your logic is to actually have everyone murder someone, and since you're insulting Sara, you may not even be able to participate." 

"He'd be the first one gone." Sara smirked, leaning back with a satisfied grin, "He's too cocky." 

"Man, it's a good thing you guys aren't the writers for Survivor." Catherine joked, "Because the liability on that contest would be atrocious..." 

The table shared a laugh, Grissom remaining silent as the rest of his team exchanged barbs. Their fighting tonight was all in fun, as opposed to the many times they had been at each other's throats in the recent past. It was nice to enjoy a nice time together, out of work, it really relaxed all of them. He was confident that this would be a good shift, everyone starting with a great mood, no personal conflicts to haze the cases that would come their way. As the food came, Grissom realized that this was probably the first time they had all been together, and friendly, in months. If only they could stay like this forever. 

_(Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Coming up: A little bit of tension, a little bit of romance, and a huge surprise. Want to know what I'm talking about? Leave a reply!)_


	8. Chapter Eight

_**Disclaimer:**_ Maybe, if I take out a super huge gigantic loan, I'll be able to entice Eric and George to joining me on a Tahiti vacation? 

_**Author's Notes:**_ Here we are again, another chapter out, only one (possibly two) left to go. If you want to know how this ends, you'll leave me a reply, right? I'm hoping to get something churned out tomorrow afternoon, but no promises...definitely one by the end of the weekend, though. I've been in a fit of depression today, after realizing that one day my daughter will, in fact, go to school, finish school, move out of my house, get her own house, and have her own family and possibly, yes possibly, not be next door to me. Damn radio, it took a lot of self restraint not to blubber like a baby at work, instead, I discreetly changed the radio station and hid in the bathroom for 20 minutes. Just a year ago, I was wondering how the hell I was going to buy even more bottles (because like hell I was going to wash the 4 I had every since day) when I wasn't on paid maternity leave, and now I'm...well, wondering how I'm going to afford to buy even more sippy cups, because I still don't have the energy to do dishes every day... Hopefully, my saddened mood doesn't reflect in this chapter, I've tried to stick to my original plans...although this does seem to have a way of writing itself, plans or no plans. 

_Jenny_

**Eight:**

Sara fumbled with her crutches, picking up one and slamming it on the ground, wishing she could just fall on her butt and cry from the frustration she was feeling. Instead, she took a deep breath and forced her shaking hands to go through even more torture, propelling herself into the break room and falling onto a chair, propping the crutches against the table as she let out a loud sigh. 

"That bad?" Catherine asked, stifling a yawn, "Did you take your painkillers tonight? Are you sure using your hands so much won't harm the burns?" 

"It won't damage them, it just hurts like hell." Sara replied, her voice laced with pain, "And no, I haven't taken the painkillers, they make my head fuzzy, the last thing Grissom needs is a disoriented, unfocused CSI going over the evidence." 

Sara took in Catherine's appearance, pale and sleepy, constantly rotating her shoulder as she shifted her broken arm in the sling. She rarely used the sling, although the doctor told her she was supposed to wear it at least 12 hours a day. She hated not being able to use her arm, at least when it was freed from it's nest she could use it to prop things while carrying them, almost as a functioning arm, she was even getting used to using her fingers, although when she moved her thumb a certain way, the jolt of pain reminded her she was injured. Sara said gently, "You should tell Grissom you're going home early." 

"I've made my first week back at work without missing a single minute, and now you want me to leave early?" Catherine asked incredulously, "We've only got another hour or so left, I may as well accomplish something. What about you? You look about as bad as I feel." 

Sara leaned over the table, her head resting on her elbow as she yawned, "I'm exhausted, my head hurts, and not only do my hands hurt from those damn crutches, I'm starting to get blisters under my arms." 

"That's from not using them properly." Greg said, entering the room and handing Sara a bottle of water from the vending machine, "You need to be careful Sar, I knew a girl in high school who seriously messed up her tendons from not using her crutches properly." 

Sara rolled her eyes, then shut them for a few seconds, "I know Greg, but let's do an experiment. I'll use an iron to burn your hands, then I'll give you some crutches and tell you to put all of your weight on your poor hands. We'll see how you use them, and compare, okay?" 

"I know you don't want to hear what I'm saying." Greg said, ignoring the bristling tone Sara gave him. For the most part, they had been getting along great for the last week, but once and awhile, Sara's mood turned sour and they butted heads. "But I'm" 

"I know, just looking out for me." Sara huffed, "I'm fine, Greg, don't you have some semen to analyze?" 

Greg was about to walk out of the room when thunder boomed outside, causing Sara and Catherine to flinch, and lighting filled the room. Within seconds, the building was being battered by rain, the pounding of the raindrops and the howling of the wind catching everyone by surprise. Another crack of lighting and boom of thunder plunged the lab into darkness as both women let out terrified screams. 

"Don't we have back up generators or something?" Catherine gasped as lightning lit up the building, thunder rumbling again, causing a wave of fear to wash over Catherine. She couldn't help but remember Eddie's death, the accident, and the fact that bad news came in threes. The memory of the accident alone sent a chill down her spine, not to mention everything else scaring her out of her wits. 

Greg's voice was soothing, and Catherine heard him moving around in the darkness, cursing when his foot hit the table, "It takes a minute or so to kick on, don't worry, it's going to be okay." 

"I know that." Catherine snapped back, feeling stupid for freaking out, not wanting Greg to know how frightened she really was. She gasped when something, well, someone hit the door, but relaxed when she heard Warrick's voice, "Are you guys okay?" 

"We're fine." Greg replied, relieved when he saw the emergency exit signs light up, along with a few floodlights. He had been able to feel the tension growing in the room, and he knew both women were instantly plagued with memories of their car accident. He had been in a car accident when he was 16, and to this day, when he'd drive that stretch of interstate by his parent's house, he'd remember every last detail of his crash, even though he had only received minor scratches. It had to be ten times worse for Catherine and Sara, the accident being so recent, and both of them still full of injuries. 

He had moved to Sara's side instantly as soon as the power cut off, wrapping an arm tightly around her and holding her close to his chest. Since she had moved in, at least once a night, she was terrorized by nightmares about what had happened, and what could have happened if they hadn't been found. He knew that the storm tonight would probably haunt her, he just didn't realize how much until he felt her shaking against him. 

As they adjusted to the small amount of light in the room, Greg noticed Catherine and Warrick both eyeing he and Sara curiously. If he had looked up just moments earlier, he would have seen their lips quickly separating from each other's as they both pulled away from an obviously intimate, and from the blush on both of their faces, sudden, moment. He rubbed Sara's back gently, whispering in her ear, "Why don't you go and splash some water on your face. I'll help you." 

Sara pulled away, her head down as she tried to hide the evidence of tears on her cheeks. She slowly stood, using the table to balance herself, and accepting a hand from Greg as he handed her the crutches she so despised. Slowly, they made their way down the hall and to the ladies' bathroom. Outside the door, she gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks...I'll be okay." 

"I know you will be." Greg said with a gentle smile, "You're Sara, you always bounce back, it's one of the things I admire most about you." 

"Thought it was my good looks." Sara teased with a small grin, pushing open the door and maneuvering into the ladies' room. As the door shut behind her, she heard Greg call after her, "And your raw sexual magnetism." 

She rolled her eyes, hobbling to the sink and looking in the mirror, making a face at herself. She had to get her act together, she couldn't fall apart in front of everyone, it just wasn't her. Even if she had to cry herself to sleep in Greg's apartment, she had to make it through the last few hours of her shift. 

She turned on the faucet, letting her hands run under the cool water and shuddering at the way it felt. She was really having a hard time getting used to the burns on her hands, everything that touched her skin felt different than it had before, and while she knew to expect it, it was still a shock when she wasn't thinking about it. She splashed the water on her cheeks, trying to gather up enough courage and strength to go back into the break room, face her fears, hide her weaknesses, and try her best to comfort Catherine, who also seemed very shaken up by the power failure. 

In the break room, Greg sat down, watching the door anxiously for Sara to reappear. He was really worried about her, he had been there for her nightmares, and she had let him comfort her on more than one occasion, but he knew that it was different at work, with everyone around to watch her fall apart. It was taking all of his willpower not to walk into the bathroom and stay with her, just to make sure she was okay. He was coherent enough, however, to know she may kill him for it, so he remained seated, watching intently for any sign of Sara. 

"So, are you and Sara...?" Warrick asked, still shocked by the vision of Greg holding his female colleague, and now aware of the lab tech's nervous gaze, "You two seem pretty close." 

Greg shook his head, "We're just friends, she needs a friend...she's still having some trouble with the accident." 

"I'm glad I'm not the only one." Catherine muttered under her breath. Warrick and Greg heard her, but pretended not to, and she sighed unhappily, "Is she having nightmares?" 

Greg nodded, unsure of how much Sara would want him to divulge to everyone. _Probably nothing_, he thought after confirming Catherine's question. "Are you?" 

Catherine nodded silently, now following Greg's gaze towards the door, "Maybe you should go check on her, she may be having trouble with her crutches again." 

"That would just make her mad." Greg replied, looking towards Warrick and Catherine, who were sitting very closely together, "Speaking of coworkers in comfortable...or not so comfortable...situations, what about you two? You've been spending a lot of time together as well." 

Now that the spotlight was on him, Warrick shook his head vehemently, a blush creeping back to his face, "We're just friends, man. Stop trying to distract the conversation." His voice was strained, and he glanced to Catherine for support, but she seemed to be shocked into silence from the events moments before. As Greg turned back to watch the door, Warrick gently squeezed her hand under the table, "We need to talk, after shift." 

"Definitely." Catherine replied, her eyes wide as she realized Warrick was holding her hand. At the same time, he realized what he was doing, and both pulled their hands back to their respective laps, an awkward silence forming between them. 

Sara hobbled back into the room, quietly sitting at the end of the table, her eyes downcast. She was certain all eyes were on her, and she knew that if they started asking questions, she may be liable to break down in front of them. Catherine seemed to have composed herself, why couldn't she do the same? Why did it seem like she was falling apart more than her colleague? 

Catherine watched as Sara studied the table intently, her heart going out to the younger woman. She knew exactly how Sara was feeling, every time the thunder boomed she felt the same rise of anxiety, bringing bile into the back of her throat as her breath caught in her chest. She, too, knew the dizzy feeling that came with the power cutting off, the hair rising on her arms and the back of her neck, the cold sweat that came moments after as the back up lighting didn't immediately come on. In her mind flashed the same images of the road disappearing, the vehicle rolling, the flames engulfing the area, the blood, the metal, the glass. She heard the same sounds of screaming, from both of them, and the deafening blast as the car caught fire. It was going to take a long, long time for the images of how exactly she was injured to leave the front burner of her mind. 

"Guys, can we have a few minutes alone?" Catherine asked, looking from Greg to Warrick for a confirmation. 

Greg squeezed Sara's hand gently, "Is it okay with you if I go outside for a bit?" 

She nodded silently, and Greg followed Warrick out of the room, the door shutting behind them. She looked up at Catherine, knowing the haunted look in the other woman's eyes mirrored her own. 

"We need to talk about this." Catherine said suddenly, after sitting in silence for a few moments, "Or it's going to eat us both alive." 

Sara looked back down at her hands, which were covered in purple and red marks, then shoved them under the table, staring at the scratches on the surface of the usually smooth table, "What is? I'm not having problems with anything." 

She had tried to sound convincing, but her earlier behavior and the catch of her voice gave her away. As she tried to control her breathing, which was becoming more and more shallow the more she realized they were actually going to talk about the accident, a topic she had been avoiding since it happened, tears filled her eyes and she was faced with a double battle. After a few seconds, she gave up, allowing one scarred hand to wipe away her tears that had manage to trickle onto her cheeks, "Okay, maybe it's bothering me a little." 

Catherine, whose own apprehensions about the accident, and the conversation they were about to have, had been dissolved the moment Sara had started crying, wheeled her chair closer to Sara, her maternal instinct blocking out everything else that was going on. She took Sara's hand into her own, "You know that's okay, right? It's supposed to bother you, it would be strange if it didn't." 

The tears started to fall quicker, leaving Catherine to wonder what she had said to upset Sara even more. Before Catherine could ask, however, Sara volunteered the information that seemed to plague her thoughts. "It's not bothering you." She said, gasping for breath as she tried to control her emotions, "You seem to still be as happy as you were two weeks ago." 

"I was miserable two weeks ago." Catherine replied, earning a glance from Sara, who's tears seemed to have been paused for the moment, "I've been miserable since Eddie died, but don't you think for one minute that I wasn't affected by this. Like I said, it would be strange if we weren't. Didn't you hear me scream when the lights went out? Does that sound like someone who's got it all together?" This comment earned a small smile from Sara, which is what Catherine had been hoping for. 

Taking a deep breath, she decided the best way to approach Sara, who sometimes could be nearly as distant as Grissom was, was to be completely honest. She wiped away a tear that had fallen onto her own cheek, then said softly, "I...I think it's really screwed me up, and I think it would help to talk to someone about it, if you want to talk to me, maybe we can help each other out?" 

"I think that would be nice." Sara replied after a few moments of hesitation. "Isn't this stupid? We're inside of a huge, safe, secure building and we're scared of a thunderstorm." 

"I know." Catherine replied with a small smile, "It's like we're Lindsey's age...I don't think I'd go home right now, even though I'm exhausted beyond belief." 

"I think I'll wait the rain out too." Sara said with a smile of her own, "Do you have nightmares?" 

Catherine nodded, taking a sip of the coffee she had poured herself earlier, making a disgusted face as she realized just how cold and stale it was, "Every night. I think about Lindsey being in the car, and not being able to get her out before it exploded...which is a slight change from the ones I had after Eddie died, of her drowning. I dream that I made it out and you didn't, that Nick didn't find us as we starved to death, that we didn't get out of the car and we burned to death...all sorts of variations of those. What about you?" 

"I dream that I couldn't keep my promise, that I let you die, and that Lindsey lost both of her parents." Sara whispered, her voice catching in her throat, "No child should have to go through life without both of their parents." 

Catherine watched as Sara fought to keep in sobs, tears falling rapidly down her cheeks. It was only then that she realized just how far the guilt over Eddie's murder ran though the younger woman's conscience. She leaned forward, hugging Sara gently, her own guilt surging through her body, a wave of pain and sadness crashing down on her, as a few tears fell onto Sara's shoulders, "I'm sorry for how I treated you during Eddie's case." 

"Don't be." Sara said, her voice stronger than it had been for the whole conversation as she pulled away, placing her hands on Catherine's shoulders, "Don't you dare be sorry for anything you said. I deserved it, I didn't find enough evidence, I had to have missed something somewhere. I didn't get them put away for the crimes they committed. I should be the one apologizing to you and to Lindsey." 

Catherine shook her head, guilt weighing heavier on her chest as she connected with Sara, suddenly getting a good glimpse at how her words and actions had affected the younger woman, "Sara, listen to me. Sometimes there's nothing else you can do. We can't change the past, and Lindsey is moving on with her life, one day at a time. We can't catch all of the bad guys, no matter how hard we want to. If something had happened to me in the accident, that wouldn't have been your fault either, it's just a fact of life. We're born, we go through hell, we die." 

"That's optimistic." Sara said dryly, pulling away from Catherine and studying the table again, "How long do you think it's going to take until we're sane enough not to freak out in the rain?" 

"Hopefully soon, or Grissom's going to have us psychologically evaluated." Catherine laughed, "It's going to go away, I know it will, it's just going to take some time. Until then, we just have to support each other...even if that means middle of the nightwell, afternoonphone calls and visits. We both have someone who's gone through what we have, and we'll have to make the best of it." 

Sara was silent for a moment, then replied, "It's a damn good thing I wasn't in a wreck with Ecklie." 

As the rest of the team entered the break room, they were met with the sounds of Catherine and Sara's laughter for the first time in months. 

(Let me know what you think, replies make the world go 'round...) 


	9. Chapter Nine End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, but I do own a poster of them. 

**Author's Notes**: Well, guys, this is the final chapter. If you guys are interested in reading a sequel, please, let me know, because I'm toying with the idea right now. 

This chapter is a little longer than I expected it to be, and I'm not sure if flows really smoothly. I wrote this at work today, and I've put in more than my fair share of hours this weekend, so I'm loopy and incoherent as it is...18 hours yesterday, 16 so far today, and the person scheduled to come in at 8 called to say she is running late, she went to Houston to visit with family for Easter, and she was just leaving, and in normal conditions it's a 4 hour drive...so...I'll be here at least until midnight...Enough of that. 

Thanks for all of the response, hope you guys enjoy. 

_Jenny_

**Nine:**

"All I'm saying is that it would be so much easier for you just to stay here, permanently." Greg said, leaning against his doorframe, "I mean, we're saving money by sharing a car, so we're not spending 2.50 a gallon on gas, and the rent would be half as expensive, utilities would be half as expensive...and it's not like we don't get along, because we do." 

"You're reaching for excuses to keep me here, you know that Greggo?" Sara laughed, "Even if money was a good reason, which isn't not, where do you expect me to sleep? I like your couch, but I need a bedroom, and you've only got one." 

Greg smirked, "Do you even want me to answer that?" 

"And 'your bed' is not an acceptable answer. Just admit it, you'll miss having me here." Sara teased, throwing her pajama pants into her duffel bag, "You've already convinced me to stay 5 weeks longer than I was supposed to...longer, actually. I could have gone home after the first week or two." 

"Yet my charm convinced you to stay until your cast came off." Greg replied, "That's got to show something." 

"Yeah, how doped up on pain medication I was." Sara laughed, "Just because I don't live here doesn't mean we can't still hang out. If you want, you can come over every morning after shift and we'll have breakfast." 

Greg shrugged, "Well, I guess that's a good compromise. Especially if you buy...since we all know you don't cook..." He tossed a forensics magazine to her, "So are you ready for your big return to the field?" 

"Beyond ready." Sara replied happily, sliding her shoe on over her soft ankle splint, "It has been way too long. I sort of feel bad for Cath, though, stuck in the lab alone. I'll miss hanging out with her." 

"Ah, yes, but now you get to hang out with the rest of us again, and not just when we dump evidence on your station." Greg replied, "Are you sure you're up to this?" 

Sara turned to stare at him, her jaw slightly open, "How can you even ask that? I've been waiting for this moment for 3 months, wait, scratch that, 13 weeks and 4 days. Don't you think I'm ready?" 

"It's just going to be a big transition. I mean, your ankle is still giving you problems sometimes, and being on your feet for 12 hours won't help that. You haven't put that much work on your foot since the accident." Greg replied as he started searching for the car keys, "It's not that I don't think you're ready, because it's obvious that you were born to be working in the field, but I just don't want you to overdo it and hurt yourself again." 

Sara dangled the keys in front of him, picking them up from on top of the TV, and gave him a quick hug, "It's sweet that you care." 

Sara grabbed her bag, and rushed out of the door, practically glowing from the giddiness she felt at being back to work, completely, and was too far ahead to hear Greg's soft, "If you only knew how much I cared." as he shut the door behind him. 

At the lab, Catherine and Warrick were sitting alone in the locker room, sure that no one would interrupt them, since they were nearly an hour early for the start of shift. The only person they would suspect of being early today, was Sara, but they knew Greg well enough to know that they'd arrive with only 5 minutes or so to spare. 

"I just feel bad about keeping it from them." Warrick whispered softly, taking Catherine's hands into his own, "Nick's my best friend, and he and Greg are starting to know something's up. I mean, I've never been shy about introducing my girlfriends to them, and they know I'm seeing someone. It makes me uncomfortable to lie to them." 

"It's not lying, it's just not sharing all of the details." Catherine replied softly, ignoring the incredulous look Warrick gave her, "Okay, maybe it's the same as lying, but I don't want things to get awkward around here. What if, God forbid, something goes wrong on a case and our team is investigated. If everyone knows we're dating, it could create reasonable doubt and we'll lose the bad guys." 

"You're starting to sound like Sara." Warrick laughed, "I don't think it will affect our credibility, I just think you don't want people to know. Are you ashamed of being my girl?" 

Catherine shook her head, a look of horror on her face, "No, it's nothing like that. I just don't know what people will think, and I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea..." 

"I love you, Catherine." Warrick said softly, leaning in and brushing his lips against hers, moaning as she put her hands on the back of his head, deepening the kiss. He pulled away, looking her in the eyes, "And I want everyone to know I love you." 

Catherine moaned, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I love you too...and if you want to tell, we can break the news to everyone tonight." 

She leaned in, wrapping her arms around him as their lips met again, feeling so warm and comfortable in his embrace. 

"Now that's what I'm expecting as a thank you present for letting you stay with me." Greg commented to Sara, his words sending Catherine and Warrick jumping apart. "No cards, no flowers, just a big wet one on the lips." 

Sara hit his arm, pulling at his shirt, "Come on, let's give them some privacy." 

"It's a little late for that now." Greg replied, giving the couple a smile, "How long has this been going on?" 

"Right after Sar and I came back to work." Catherine supplied, looking down guiltily, "We were waiting to tell everyone." 

Sara smiled at Warrick and Catherine, happiness for her two friends evident on her face, "Congratulations, you both deserve to be happy, I'm glad you found each other." She turned to Greg, "We won't tell anyone, right?" 

"Not that anyone would be surprised. We all know how much you two liked each other, even if you were both too clueless to see the other's feelings. I think Nicky owes me 50 bucks." Greg said with a grin. 

Warrick's eyes grew wide, "You were betting on us?" 

"Well, yeah." Greg replied, as if this was the most natural thing in the world, "It was one of those things bound to happen." 

Catherine and Warrick looked at each other, then towards Sara to validate Greg's claim. Sara shrugged, "They said the same thing about me and Grissom, but we'll never be together." 

"Yeah, I lost money on that." Warrick admitted, earning a swat on the leg from Catherine, who insisted, "It's just wrong to bet on people's lives." 

The conversation halted when a new voice entered the conversation, "So are we all hanging out in here today?" 

"We're all waiting to see you naked." Sara teased, causing everyone but Greg to laugh. "So, you going to change for us, or what?" 

"Well, I'd kind of like to change in private." Nick said gruffly, his eyes still tired. He hadn't gotten home until nearly 2 pm, and he hadn't gotten enough sleep as he needed to be having this conversation. 

"Oh, don't change Nick, we like you just the way you are." Catherine purred, "we were just about to go get some coffee...come on guys, let's give him some privacy." 

"You know, for as much as he shares his personal life, he's really making a big deal about his privacy right now." Warrick teased, raising his eyebrows at Nick, "Something you're embarrassed over?" 

Nick glared at Warrick, who held up his hands and backed away, "Yeah, it's time to go get that coffee." 

Catherine led the others away on her crutches, maneuvering a lot easier than Sara had been, since she was functioning with all limbs except her leg, Warrick trailing closely behind her. Greg turned to leave, but Sara caught his eye, "I'll catch up in a second." 

Greg nodded, a brief look of hurt crossing his features, and then started towards the break room to catch up with Catherine and Warrick. Sara leaned against the lockers, staring at Nick, "What's wrong?" 

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, a little edgier than he had meant to. "Nothing's wrong." 

Sara raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms, "Don't lie to me, Nick, you're upset about something." 

"Don't worry about it, Sar." Nick said firmly, slamming his locker shut, "It's not important." 

"If it's upsetting you, then it is important." Sara insisted, "You can tell me, I thought we were friends." 

Nick sighed, "We are friends...it's just...well, I'm just pissed off. My sister, Karen, she's just a few years older than me...my Mom called me, she was hospitalized this morning. Her husband, Travis...hurt...her. They say she's going to be fine, but none of us saw this coming. I just wish I would have known...I wish I could get my hands on the sorry son of a bitch." 

"She's pressing charges, right?" Sara asked, squeezing Nick's hand, "I'm so sorry...are you going to take some time off to go see her?" 

Nick shook his head, "With Catherine still out of commission, we're still one CSI short. I wouldn't feel right doing that to Grissom, besides, what if something happens and you need some more time off of field work? It would be unfair to everyone else for me to leave." 

"It's your family, Nick, you can get a new job, you can't get a new sister." Sara whispered softly, giving him a gentle hug, "If you need anything, you know where to find me...we're trained CSI's, you know, we can hide a body if need be." 

Nick cracked a small smile, "Thanks...but don't tempt me with murder." 

"I'm sure Grissom's waiting on us by now." Sara said, returning Nick's smile, "Let's go catch some bad guys." 

They walked into the break room just as Grissom had taken a seat, holding several slips of paper in his hands, "Sara, Nicky, glad you decided to join us." 

"Shift doesn't start for 20 more minutes." Sara pointed out, "It's not like we're late." 

Nick smiled at her, tapping his elbow against hers, "Aw, now Sara, why do you go have to cloud the issue with facts." 

"If you two would stop flirting." Grissom said pointedly, causing Nick to blush, Sara's jaw to drop, and Greg's eyes to flash with pain, "We've got a 419 at the MGM Grand. Housekeeping entered the executive suite to find 4 db's. I want Nick and Warrick with me on that one. Sara, Greg, you've got a decomp at Lake Mead. A couple of high school kids found a body in a trash bag shoved in their boat that was docked there." 

Sara and Greg shared an exasperated look, decomps were the worst, both would rather be at their multiple at the MGM Grand. "I get to drive." Sara said in an almost unaturally bright tone, forcing a smile. 

"Why do you get to drive?" Greg asked, frowning as he took the slip from Grissom, "You drove over here tonight, I get to drive to the scene." 

"Seniority." Sara replied with a genuine laugh, holding the keys just out of Greg's reach, "If you do a good job, I may let you drive back." 

Greg's voice showed the disbelief he had plastered on his face, "Let me? It's my car!" 

"Just let me drive, okay?" Sara said, rolling her eyes, "I drive faster, we can get there sooner, and be done with the decomp sooner." 

After a few seconds, Greg relented, "Oh, alright. So, how bad is a decomp anyway?" 

3 hours later, they were standing in the autopsy room, clothed in scrubs, watching as Dr. Robbins pulled several body parts out of the green garbage bag. 

"This bad." Greg said softly, his face growing more and more pale with every bone the doctor supplied them. "This is disgusting." 

Sara shot him a look, "That's an understatement." She peered closer at him...anything to keep her eyes off of the body..."You okay?" 

Greg nodded, glad he hadn't had time to eat a meal before coming to work. The last thing he wanted to do was throw up in front of his coworkers, especially Sara, and have them reminded that he was still a naive rookie when it came to field work. 

"You sure? Why don't you bring those fingerprints we found to get processed? Oh, and you can start flipping through missing person's reports if you want to." Sara said gently, seeing the greenish color creep onto Greg's face. She looked at Dr. Robbins for confirmation. 

He held up the bone he had just classified to be a pelvic bone, "We're looking for a woman under the age of 20, who has had a child, and who has been dead for approximately 10 to 12 weeks." 

Seeing the thick black liquid dripping from the bone was all Greg needed to convince him to do as Sara suggested. "Page me if you need me." He said quickly before bolting out of the room and doubling over in the hallway, panting for breath, relieved to have some clean oxygen entering his body. It was times like these that he missed working strictly in the lab. When would Catherine be back in fully duty again? 

Sara found him sitting in front of a computer screen 2 hours later, a scowl on his face, "Any luck?" 

"Only 73 women who match the description." Greg said sarcastically, "I wish we had something more to go off of." 

Sara stared at him, trying to come up with some advice to make him feel better, but unable to. She often felt the same frustration, and nothing besides solving the case truly made it better. Luckily, she was able to give him a way to significantly lower the list of missing females. "I've got something that may help." She held up a slimy baseball cap in a sealed evidence bag, "West Las Vegas High School Academic Rally Participant. This is a standard Rally team issue for WLVH. The pin attached shows she won second place in American History for the County. I did a little online research, the County Academic Rally took place 14 weeks ago." 

"Did the website give you a list of winners? A list of participants from each school?" Greg asked excitedly, his eyes perking up a bit. 

Sara shook her head, "I did learn that only one student from each high school goes in a specific subject, and American History is a subject offered in 11th grade, so you're looking at a missing girl from WLVH, who has been missing less than 14 weeks and is around 16 years old. If that doesn't narrow down your search, I don't know what will." 

"If we both didn't smell like a decaying corpse, I'd hug you." Greg said with a grin, "I'll page you with a name." 

Sara walked out of the room, a smile on her lips. She could see Warrick and Catherine laughing together in the break room, matching radiating smiles on their faces, their postures carefree. She stole a glance back at Greg, who was typing furiously on the keyboard, his face mirroring the excitement of a child who was on his way to get his first bicycle. She went into the locker room, not wanting to interrupt Catherine and Warrick, not to mention nauseate them with the stench of her clothes, and made her way to her locker. She planned on getting a change of clothes and taking a shower, hoping to rid herself of the awful stench that always came hand in hand with a decomp. 

When she opened her locker, a ziplock bag of lemons fell into her hands, with a note taped to the bag, "Thought you might need these...glad to have you back...Grissom." 

She smiled as she stepped into the showers, letting the warm water hit her back, the tension draining away slowly. It was the little things that made her love her job, and her coworkers...her friends. She couldn't ask for a better team, and she wouldn't want to be anywhere else. As much as she had played with the idea of returning home to San Francisco, after the recent events, she realized that home, was in fact, Las Vegas, Nevada. 

**The End.**

_I think there's going to be a sequel, if there's interest. I've got some loose ends to tie up with Greg, and with Catherine and Warrick. Let me know if you'd like to see a continuation. I just felt that what I had wanted to accomplish in this story was complete...hope you all enjoyed reading, because I enjoyed writing this very much. Thank you to my faithful readers and reviewers, you guys are the best, you made me feel like I was doing a wonderful job, and I really appreciate that, without your encouragement, it would have been easy to let this story fall in the cracks and remain unfinished. _

_Jenny_


End file.
